, 

? 


v    ! 


i 


i 


THE    WESTERNERS 


By 

tpf)ite 


NEW     YORK 

CROSSET  &  DUNLAP 


161 

l/rft 


Copyright,  igoo  and  igoi,  by 
STEWART  EDWARD  WHITE 


FIRST  IMPRESSION,  AUGUST,  IQOI 
SECOND  .IMPRESSION,  SEPTEMBER,  1901 
THIRD  IMPRESSION,  NOVEMBER,  1901 


THE    COUNTRY  LIFE  PRESS,  GARDEN  CITY,  N.  V. 


3 


CONTENTS 

FACE 

I.  THE  HALF-BREED      .       .       .       •       •       .      I 

II.  THE  WOMAN      .......      9 

III.  THE  MAN  WHO  STOOD  "99"  .       .       .       .14 

IV.  ALFRED  USES  His  SIX-SHOOTER      ...    23 
V.  LAFOND  DESERTS       .       .  .       .       -32 

VI.   THE  WOMAN  AND  THE  MAN     .       .       .       .    36 

VII.   THE  REINS  OF  POWER       .       .        .       .       .46 

VIII.   THE  MAKING  OF  A  HOSTILE     .       .       .       .    54 

IX.   THE  BROTHER  OF  GODS 62 

X.   THE  PRICE  OF  A.  CLAIM 73 

XI.   THE  BEGINNING  OF  LAFOND'S  REVENGE  .       .    77 
XII.   THE  LEOPARD  AND  His  SPOTS         .  .84 

XIII.  THE  DISSOLVING  VIEW 91 

XIV.  INTO  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  HILLS    .       .        .103 
XV.   IN  WHICH  CHEYENNE  HARRY  LOSES  His  PISTOL  108 

XVI.   AND  GETS  IT  BACK  AGAIN       .        .        .        .126 
XVII.   BLACK  MIKE  MEETS  AN  OLD  ACQUAINTANCE 

AND  STARTS  A  COLLECTION        .       .       .143 


249015 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

XVIII.  TIRED  WINGS 152 

XIX.  THE  BROAD  WHITE  ROAD  .       .       .       .164 

XX.  THE  EATING  OF  THE  APPLE        .       .       .180 

XXI.  LAFOND  MAKES  A  FRIEND  .        .       .        .192 

XXII.  IN  WHICH  THE  TENDERFEET  CONDUCT  A 

SHOOTING  MATCH  AND  GLORIFY  PETER  201 

XXIII.  A  FOOL  FOR  LUCK       .       .       .       .  •      .  208 

XXIV.  BI*LLY  STARTS  IN  ON  His  FIFTY  THOUSAND  217 
XXV.  JACK  GRAHAM  SPEAKS  OUT        .       .       .226 

XXVI.  AND  HAS  TO  GO  TO  WORK  ....  242 

XXVII.  PROSPERITY 248 

XXVIII.  LAFOND  GOES  EAST     .       .       .       .       .255 

XXIX.  BISMARCK  ANNE  ARRIVES   .       .       .       .265 

XXX.  ANCESTRAL  VOICES 275 

XXXI.  LAFOND'S  FIRST  CARD         .       .       .       .  288 

XXXII.    IN  WHICH  THERE  IS  SOME  SHOOTING .          .    296 

XXXIII.  FUTILITY 3°2 

XXXIV.  LOVE'S  EYES  UNBANDAGED  .       .       .       .308 
XXXV.   OUT  OF  THE  PAST        .       .        .        .        .316 

XXXVI.   UNDER  THE  ETERNAL  STARS      .       .       .326 
XXXVII.   ASHES 337 


THE  HALF-BREED 

A  TOURIST  of  to-day,  peering  from  the  win 
dow  of  his   vestibule  train  at  the  electric-lit 
vision  of  Three  Rivers,  as  it  stars  the  banks  of 
the  Missouri  like  a  constellation  against  the  blackness 
of  the  night,  would  never  recognize,  in  the  trim  little 
modern  town,  the  old  Three  Rivers  of  the  early  seven 
ties. 

To  restore  the  latter,  he  should  first  of  all  sweep 
the  ground  bare  of  the  buildings  which  now  adorn 
it,  leaving,  perhaps,  here  and  there  an  isolated  old 
shanty  of  boards  far  advanced  toward  dissolution.  He 
would  be  called  upon  to  substitute,  in  place  of  the 
brick  stores  and  dwellings  of  to-day,  a  motley  collec 
tion  of  lean-tos,  dug-outs,  tents,  and  shacks,  scattered 
broadcast  over  the  virgin  prairie  without  the  slightest 
semblance  of  order.  Where  the  Oriole  furniture  fac 
tory  now  stands,  he  must  be  prepared  to  see — and  hear 
— a  great  drove  of  horses  and  oxen  feeding  on  bottom 
land  grass.  And  for  the  latter-day  citizens,  whose 
police  record  is  so  discouraging  to  the  ambitious  chief, 
and  so  creditable  to  themselves,  he  must  imagine  a 
multitude  more  heterogeneous,  perhaps,  than  could 
be  gathered  anywhere  else  in  the  world — tenderfeet 
from  the  East ;  mountaineers  from  Tennessee  and  Ken 
tucky,  bearing  their  historic  long  pea  rifles;  soft- 
voiced  Virginians;  keen,  alert  woodsmen  from  the 
North ;  wiry,  silent  trappers  and  scouts  from  the  West ; 


V  'frit'  WESTERNERS 

and  here  and  there  a  straight  Indian,  stalking  solemnly 
toward  some  one  of  the  numerous  "  whiskey  joints." 
The  court-house  site  he  would  find  crowded  with  can 
vas  wagons,  noisy  with  the  shrill  calling  of  women  and 
Children.  Where  Judge  Oglethorpe  has  recently 
erected  his  stone  mansion,  Frank  Byers  would  be  run 
ning  a  well-patronized  saloon.  Were  he  to  complete 
the  picture  by  placing  himself  mentally  at  the  exact 
period  of  our  story's  opening,  he  would  find  the  whole 
town,  if  such  it  might  be  called,  seething,  turbulent, 
eager,  and — it  must  be  confessed — ready  for  trouble. 

For  all  these  varied  swarms  had  gathered  from  three 
points  of  the  compass  for  the  purpose  of  pushing  on 
to  the  gold  discoveries  of  the  Black  Hills.  They  had 
rushed  eagerly  to  this  extremest  point — and  stopped. 
As  far  as  the  border  of  the  great  wilderness  it  was 
possible  to  journey  individually;  beyond  that  myste 
rious  boundary  nothing  could  be  accomplished  alone. 
Trained  scouts  and  plainsmen  there  became  necessary, 
and  these  skilled  men  declined  to  attempt  the  journey. 

Their  reasons  were  simple  and  cogent.  Through 
out  all  of  the  previous  winter  unusual  snows  had  cov 
ered  the  pasturage  to  such  a  depth  that  much  of  the 
range  stock,  on  which  the  plainsman  relied  to  draw  his 
heavy  "  schooners,"  had  died  of  cold  and  exhaustion, 
while  of  the  survivors  but  an  insignificant  remnant  was 
fit  to  travel.  After  causing  this  damage,  the  snow  had 
melted  in  four  days,  leaving  the  streams  swollen,  and 
the  trails  in  an  awful  state,  especially  in  the  Bad  Lands, 
where,  in  the  deeper  gullies,  they  must  have  been  quite 
washed  out.  As  an  incidental  climax,  piled  on  top  to 
make  good  measure,  the  Ogallalas  were  on  the  war 
path  ;  and  of  all  the  Sioux  the  Ogallalas  are  the  worst 


THE   HALF-BREED  3 

'Nobody  gave  a  thought  to  the  Ogallalas.  That  was 
part  of  the  game.  But  a  blind  man  could  see  that  those 
emaciated  cattle  couldn't  stand  the  racket.  And  so 
Three  Rivers  steadily  congested,  and  the  conditions  of 
life  daily  became  more  exacting. 

One  of  the  many  who  had  reached  the  frontier  town, 
only  to  find  himself  checked  in  his  desire  to  push  ahead, 
was  a  young  man  of  twenty-two  or  three.  He  had 
made  a  long  journey,  and  he  was  correspondingly  dis 
appointed  when  he  foresaw,  as  his  immediate  prospect, 
a  summer's  sojourn  in  a  sun-baked,  turbulent,  un 
profitable  region.  Not  that  he  was  content  with  a 
superficial  proof  of  its  necessity.  He  sought  the  pre 
venting  causes  at  the  very  sources  of  them:  he  ex 
amined  the  cattle  carefully ;  he  questioned  closely  the 
men  who  knew  the  trails,  the  fords,  the  Indians.  When 
he  had  quite  finished  his  patient  investigations,  he 
swore  briefly  and  gustily,  and  then  went  on  a  three- 
days'  spree,  from  which  he  sobered  into  a  quiet  cigar 
ette-smoking  lounger,  waiting  for  what  might  turn  up. 
Nothing  did. 

The  days  followed  one  another  until  a  month  had 
passed,  which  seemed  as  long  as  a  year.  Men  gambled 
away  one  another's  small  store  of  wealth,  drank  away 
their  own  disappointments,  shot  each  other's  lives  out 
unmolested.  Three  spasmodic  vigilance  committees 
hanged  six  men  by  the  neck  until  they  were  dead,  but 
speedily  allowed  themselves  to  dissolve  and  the  town 
to  relapse,  because  of  a  happy  combination  of  sheer 
laziness  and  sympathy  with  the  offenders. 

Rumors  of  an  advance  flew  thick.  They  were  always 
brought  heavily  to  earth  by  a  charge  of  common-sense 
or  investigation.  Nevertheless,  others  were  speedily 


4  THE   WESTERNERS 

on  the  wing ;  and  men  looked  at  them.  Ensuing  dis 
appointment  came  in  time  to  possess  a  cumulative 
force  that  amounted  to  a  dull,  sullen  anger  against 
nothing  in  particular. 

The  young  man  of  whom  mention  has  already  been 
made,  took  his  month  with  an  outward  seeming  of  im 
perturbability,  but  with  an  increasing  inner  tension. 
He  was  a  tall,  dark,  straight  young  man,  broad-shoul 
dered  and  clean  built ;  strong,  but  with  fine  hands  and 
feet.  His  hair  was  straight  and  black;  his  features 
clean-cut  and  swarthy.  By  his  restless  eye  and  a  cer 
tain  indefinable  cast  of  expression  you  knew  him  for 
a  half-breed.  He  gave  out  his  name  as  Michail  La- 
fond,  and  he  lived  much  in  himself.  Toward  the  close 
of  the  troublous  thirty  days,  a  practised  observer  might 
have  noticed  that  his  slender  fingers  were  rarely  still. 
Otherwise  the  half-breed  appeared  the  most  indifferent 
member  of  the  community. 

His  apparent  idleness  did  not  prevent  him  from  in 
vestigating  in  his  painstaking  manner  each  rumor  as 
it  took  form.  This  was  the  reason  why,  when  finally 
the  formation  of  a  genuine  train  was  undertaken  by 
three  of  the  specialists  known  as  scouts,  Michail  La- 
fond  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  know  of  it,  and  one  of 
the  first  to  apply  for  admission.  He  owned  four  strong 
little  horses  of  mustang  stock,  and  a  light,  two-wheeled 
wagon  of  the  bob-tailed  type.  Most  of  his  life  had  been 
spent  in  the  great  Northern  wilderness.  He  was  ex 
pert  in  his  own  kind  of  woodcraft,  accustomed  to  hard 
ships,  and  a  good  shot.  In  every  respect  he  knew  him 
self  fitted  to  become  a  member  of  such  an  expedition 
as  the  present.  He  had  no  doubt  of  his  acceptance, 
he  realized  that  at  last  his  waiting  was  ended, 


THE  HALF-BREED  5 

he  saddled  one  of  his  horses,  and  rode  three  miles  out 
on  the  lonely  prairie,  where  he  jumped  up  and  down, 
shook  his  fists  in  the  air,  and  screamed  with  delight. 
This  was  the  half-breed  of  it.  Impassibility  may  be 
stupid  or  intensely  nervous.  Then,  all  a-tremble,  he 
rode  back  to  where  the  three  specialists  in  question 
were  camped,  just  on  the  border  of  the  town,  and 
proffered  his  formal  application. 

The  three  to  whom  he  addressed  himself  were  prac 
tically  at  the  head  of  their  profession.  It  was  not  a 
profession  of  easy  access,  but  one  to  which  only  a  long 
and  dangerous  apprenticeship  gave  admittance.  Its 
members  were  men  who  had  lived  their  lives  on  the 
frontier,  either  as  express  riders,  hunters,  trappers, 
army  scouts,  or  as  members  of  the  Indian  tribes  them 
selves.  They  were  a  hardy,  bold,  self-reliant  race, 
equal  to  all  emergencies,  and  exacting  from  the  men 
in  their  charge  the  most  implicit  obedience.  To  their 
wonderful  resourcefulness  is  due  the  fact  that  so  many 
comparatively  weak  forces  were  enabled  to  penetrate 
in  safety  a  hostile  country  teeming  with  the  most 
treacherous  and  wily  foes. 

As  with  all  crafts,  they  had  their  big  men — the 
masters,  as  it  were — whose  deeds  they  emulated,  whose 
feats  of  skill  and  divination  they  spoke  of  with  awe, 
whose  names  they  worshipped.  Of  such  were  Kit  Car 
son,  Wild  Bill,  Jim  Clarke,  Buffalo  Bill,  Slade,  and  the 
three  men  with  whom  we  have  to  deal — Jim  Buckley, 
Alfred,  and  Billy  Knapp. 

Billy  Knapp  was  dark,  tall,  broad-shouldered,  long 
haired,  wearing  a  bristly  mustache  and  goatee.  A 
stranger  might  have  remarked  his  frowning,  beetling 
brow  with  a  little  uneasiness,  but  would  have  taken 


6  THE  WESTERNERS 

heart  from  the  energetic  kindliness  of  the  eyes  beneath. 
In  fact,  eager,  autocratic  energy  was  the  dominant  note 
in  Billy's  character.  He  succeeded  because  this  en 
ergy  carried  him  through — with  some  to  spare. 

Jim  Buckley  was  also  tall  and  large,  but  he  gave 
one  less  the  idea  of  nervous  force  than  of  a  certain 
static  power.  He  was  a  mass  which  moved  slowly 
but  irresistibly.  His  seal-brown  beard,  his  broad  fore 
head,  the  distance  between  his  wide,  steady  eyes 
strengthened  this  impression.  One  felt  that  his  de 
cisions  would  be  hardly  come  at,  but  stubbornly  held. 
Success  was  inevitable,  but  it  would  be  the  result  of 
slow  thinking,  deep  purpose,  and  a  quiet  tenacity  of 
grip  that  never  let  go. 

•  As  for  Alfred — everybody  has  heard  of  him.  His 
place  in  the  annals  of  the  West  is  assured,  and  his  pe 
culiarities  of  person  and  character  have  been  many 
times  described.  Surely  no  one  is  unfamiliar  with  his 
short,  bandy  legs,  his  narrow,  sloping  little  shoulders, 
his  contracted  chest,  his  queer  pink  and  white  face, 
with  its  bashful  smile,  his  high  bald  head.  Everybody 
knows  his  fear  of  women.  Everybody  knows,  too, 
that  he  never  had  an  opinion  of  his  own  on  any  subject. 
His  speciality  was  making  the  best  of  other  people's, 
no  piatter  how  bad  they  were ;  and  competent  judges 
say  he  could  accomplish  a  more  gloriously  perfect  best 
out  of  some  tenderfoot's  fool  notion  than  another  man 
with  the  advice  of  experts.  Some  people  even  main 
tain  that  Alfred  was  the  best  scout  the  plains  ever  pro 
duced,  only  he  was  so  bashful  that  it  took  an  expert  to 
appreciate  the  fact. 

When  Lafond  approached  the  camp  of  these  men  and 
threw  himself  from  his  pony,  he  found  only  Jim  Buck- 


THE  HALF-BREED  7 

icy,  sitting  in  the  shade  of  one  of  his  wagons,  smok 
ing  his  pipe. 

"  One  says  that  you  will  tak'  train  through  thees 
summer,"  began  the  half-breed  abruptly.  "Ah  lak' 
to  go  also." 

Buckley  looked  his  interlocutor  over  keenly. 

"Yes,"  said  he  slowly,  between  puffs.  "That's 
right.  We  aims  to  pull  through,  but  we  don't  aim  to 
take  no  lumber  with  us.  You  married  ?  " 

Lafond  shook  his  head.  "  No !  No !  No !  "  he  cried 
vehemently. 

"  That's  all  right.    Got  any  cattle  ?  " 

"  Four  horses." 

"That  one  of  them?" 

"  Yes." 

The  scout  arose,  still  with  the  same  appearance  of 
deliberation,  and  inspected  the  pony  thoroughly,  with 
the  eye  and  movements  of  an  expert. 

"  Others  as  good  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  Bettaire,"  assured  Lafond. 

"  Wagon  ?  "  pursued  the  laconic  Buckley. 

"  Bobtail,"  responded  Lafond  with  equal  brevity. 
Though  young,  he  already  possessed  some  shrewdness 
in  the  reading  of  character. 

Buckley  sat  down  in  the  shade  and  relit  his  pipe. 

"  Where  are  you  from  ?  "  he  asked  bluntly. 

"Ontario."   " 

"Woods?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Thought  you  wasn't  no  tenderfoot.  Ever  hit  the 
trail?" 

"  Not  on  those  plains.    In  the  woods  many  times." 

"  We  ain't  takin*  but  damn  few,"  went  on  Buckley 


8  THE  WESTERNERS 

dissertatively,  "  and  them  that  goes  has  to  be  right  on 
to  their  job.  No  women;  good  cattle.  That's  our 
motto.  Reckon  you-all  fills  the  bill.  Cyan't  tell.  Got 
to  ask  the  others." 

Lafond  knew  that  this,  from  a  man  of  Buckley's 
stamp,  was  distinct  encouragement.  At  the  moment, 
the  other  two  members  came  up.  Buckley,  in  a  few 
words,  told  them  of  the  newcomer's  desires  and  quali 
fications. 

Billy  looked  him  over  briefly. 

"  Yo're  a  breed,  ain't  yo'  ?  "  he  inquired  with  refresh 
ing  directness.  "  I  thought  so."  He  turned  to  Buck 
ley,  with  the  air  of  ignoring  Lafond  altogether.  "  That 
bars  him,"  he  said,  with  a  little  laugh. 

"  He's  got  a  mighty  good  line  of  broncs,"  Buckley 
objected. 

"  Don't  care  if  his  hosses  are  good,"  stated  Billy  de 
cidedly.  "  He's  a  breed,  an'  that's  enough.  I  seen 
plenty  of  that  crew,  and  I  ain't  goin'  to  have  one  in  the 
same  country  with  me,  if  I  can  help  it,  let  alone  the 
same  outfit." 

He  began  to  whistle  and  rummage  in  the  back  of  the 
wagon,  with  a  charming  obliviousness  to  the  presence 
of  the  subject  of  his  remarks. 

"That  settles  it,"  said  Buckley,  curtly  and  indif 
ferently. 

The  half-breed,  his  nervous  hands  deep  in  his  side- 
pockets,  walked  slowly  to  his  horse.  Then,  in  sudden 
access  of  rapid  motion,  he  leaped  on  the  animal's  back 
and  disappeared. 


II 

THE  WOMAN 

BARELY  had  the  dust  of  the  half-breed's  sudden 
departure  sifted  from  the  air,  when  Buckley 
arose  and  announced  his  intention  of  "  taking  a 
little  look  round."  He  was  gone  two  hours,  and  re 
turned  looking  solemn  and  earnest.  Billy  and  Alfred 
were  cooking  things  over  a  small  fire.  Buckley  spat 
in  a  propitiatory  manner  toward  seven  small  bushes, 
and  conversationally  informed  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  canvas  top  on  a  nearby  schooner  that  he,  Jim 
Buckley,  had  decided  to  take  along  a  woman. 

Billy  and  Alfred  thereupon  spilled  the  coffee,  and 
could  not  believe  their  ears. 

"  She's  goin',  if  I  have  to  take  her  by  myself,"  Buck 
ley  concluded.  And  then  Alfred  and  Billy  looked  up 
into  his  face,  and  saw  that  he  was  in  earnest. 

Alfred  turned  pink  and  wriggled  the  bacon,  trying 
immediately  to  think  how  he  was  going  to  make  the 
best  of  this.  It  did  not  look  easy. 

Billy  Knapp  exploded. 

"  You  go  to  hell !  "  was  his  method  of  objection. 

"  She  goes,"  repeated  Jim,  with  even  greater  quiet 
ness  of  manner.  "  An'  if  you-all  don'  like  it,  why,  jest 
say  so.  I  quits.  You  got  to  have  her,  if  you  have  me." 

"  I'd  jest  like  to  know  why,"  complained  Billy,  a 
little  sobered  at  this  threat. 

Whereupon  Jim  found  himself  utterly  at  a  loss.  He 
had  not  thought  as  far  as  that.  He  suddenly  appre- 


10  THE  WESTERNERS 

dated  the  logical  weakness  of  his  position ;  but  then, 
again,  intuitively,  he  realized  more  subtly  its  strength. 
So  he  said  not  a  word,  but  arose  lightly,  and  brought 
unto  them  the  woman  herself. 

She  was  a  sweet  little  woman,  with  deep,  trusting 
blue  eyes,  and  she  accompanied  Jim  without  a  thought 
of  the  opposition  she  had  excited.  Jim  merely  told 
her  she  was  to  meet  the  other  two  men.  She  intended 
only  to  show  her  appreciation  of  their  kindness. 

She  approached  the  fire,  and  assumed  her  most 
gracious  manner. 

"  I  want  to  thank  you  both,  as  well  as  Mr.  Buckley, 
for  being  so  good  to  me,"  she  began,  with  real  feeling. 
"  I  know  how  hard  it  is  for  you  to  take  me  just  now, 
and  I  appreciate  it  more  than  I  can  say.  I  don't  know 
what  we  would  have  done.  You  need  not  be  afraid 
that  we  shall  be  much  trouble,  for  we  will  all  be  brave, 
and  not  murmur.  Your  goodness  has  made  me  very 
happy,  and  I  am  going  to  pray  to  God  for  you  to 
night,"  said  the  little  Puritan  with  simple  reverence. 
It  meant  a  great  deal  to  her. 

Alfred,  as  usual,  was  wrigglingly  shy.  Billy  Knapp 
several  times  opened  his  mouth  to  object,  but  some 
how  closed  it  slowly  each  time  without  having  ob 
jected.  The  woman  saw.  She  thought  it  meant  that 
her  presence  embarrassed  them  both,  so  with  true  tact 
she  wished  them  a  gentle  good-night,  and  went  away. 

The  three  looked  at  one  another. 

"  Well  ?  "  asked  Jim  defiantly. 

Billy  coughed.  He  spat  in  the  fire.  He  exploded. 
"  Damn  it !  She  goes !  "  he  roared  with  the  voice  of 
a  bull. 

They  both  looked  expectantly  toward  Alfred.    Al- 


THi,  WOMAN  li 

fred  nodded  his  head.  .  He  was  wondering  how  long  it 
had  been  since  anyone  had  prayed  for  him. 

"  Thar  is  a  man  with  her,"  remarked  Jim,  after  a 
moment's  silence.  "  He's  a  tenderfoot.  And  a  kid. 
The  kid  has  blue  eyes,  too,"  he  added  irrelevantly. 

"  The  camp'll  be  mighty  riled,"  put  in  Alfred. 

"  Let's  go  see  the  tenderfoot,"  suggested  the  prac 
tical  Billy. 

They  dropped  everything,  and  went  over  to  the 
"  hotel,"  where  they  viewed  the  woman's  husband  at 
a  safe  distance.  He  was  a  slight,  bent  man,  with  near 
sighted  eyes  behind  thick  spectacles,  straight,  light 
hair,  and  a  peering,  abstracted  expression  of  counte 
nance.  He  wore  a  rather  shiny  frock  coat. 

"  Gee  Christmas ! "  ejaculated  Billy,  and  laughed 
loudly. 

Alfred  shook  his  head. 

Jim  looked  grave. 

They  returned  to  camp,  and  began  to  discuss  the 
question  of  ways  and  means.  There  would  surely  be 
trouble  when  the  affair  became  known.  The  inclu 
sion  of  a  tenderfoot  from  Chicago,  on  account  of  his 
pinto  team,  had  almost  resulted  in  a  riot  of  the  re 
jected.  Not  one  of  the  three  was  fatuous  enough  to 
imagine  for  a  moment  that  Jack  Snowie,  for  instance, 
who  had  been  refused  because  he  wanted  to  take  his 
wife,  would  exactly  rejoice  over  the  scouts'  decision. 
In  fact,  Jack  had  a  rather  well-developed  sense  of  in 
justice,  and  a  summary  method  of  showing  it.  And  he 
was  by  no  means  alone. 

Jim  agreed  to  transport  the  three  in  his  schooner, 
which  was  one  point  well  settled.  Billy  suggested  at 
least  a  dozen  absurd  methods  of  keeping  the  camp  in 


12  THE   WESTERNERS 

ignorance  until  the  start  had  actually  been  made,  each 
one  of  which  was  laughed  to  scorn  by  the  practical 
Jim. 

"  She  might  put  on  men's  clothes,"  he  concluded 
desperately. 

"For  the  love  of  God,  what  for?"  inquired  Jim. 
"  Stick  to  sense,  Billy.  Besides,  there's  the  kid." 

Billy  tried  once  more. 

"  They  might  meet  us  'bout  a  hundred  mile  out.  He 
could  take  Jim's  schooner,  here,  and  mosey  out  nor'- 
west,  and  then  jest  nat'rally  pick  us  up  after  we  gets 
good  and  started.  That  way,  the  camp  thinks  he 
palavers  with  Jim  and  us  to  get  a  schooner,  and  maybe 
they  thinks  Jim  is  a  damn  fool  a  whole  lot,  but  Jim  don't 
mind  that ;  do  you,  Jim  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  mind  that,"  said  Jim,  "  but  yore 
scheme's  no  good." 

"Why?" 

"  He  wouldn't  get  ten  mile  before  somebody'd  hold 
him  up  and  lift  his  schooner  off  him.  They's  a  raft  of 
bad  men  jest  layin'  fer  a  chance  like  that  to  turn  road 
agent." 

Billy  turned  a  slow  brick-red,  and  got  up  suddenly, 
overturning  the  coffee-pot.  A  dozen  strides  brought 
him  to  the  camp  of  the  Tennessee  outfit.  There  he 
raised  his  voice  to  concert  pitch. 

"  We  aims  to  pull  out  day  arter  to-morrow,"  he  bel 
lowed.  "  We  also  aims  to  take  with  us  two  tenderfeet, 
a  woman,  and  a  kid.  Them  that  has  objections  can  go 
to  the  devil." 

So  saying,  he  turned  abruptly  on  his  heel  and  re 
turned  to  his  friends.  Jim  whistled;  but  Alfred 
smiled  softly,  and  began  to  recap  the  nipples  of  his 


THE   WOMAN  13 

old-fashioned  Colt's  revolvers.  Alfred  was  at  that  time 
the  best  shot  with  a  six-shooter  in  the  middle  West. 

Seeing  this,  Billy's  frown  relaxed  into  a  grin. 

"  I'm  thinkin'  that  them  that  does  object  probably 
will  go  to  the  devil,"  said  he. 

In  half  an  hour  the  news  was  all  over  camp.  When 
Michail  Lafond  heard  of  it,  he  left  his  dinner  half  eaten 
and  went  out  to  talk  earnestly  to  a  great  variety  of 
people. 


Ill 

THE   MAN   WHO   STOOD   "99" 

THE  three  scouts  would  never  have  been  able  to 
explain  satisfactorily  their  reasons  for  being 
so  easily  persuaded, ,  or  their  obstinacy  in  ad 
hering  to  the  determination  so  suddenly  made.  Prue 
Welch  would  have  thanked  a  divine  providence  for  it. 
The  doctor,  her  husband,  took  it  as  quite  in  the  natural 
course  of  events. 

He  was  a  queer  man,  the  doctor,  a  pathetic  little 
figure  in  the  world's  progress — an  outgrowth  of  it,  in 
a  certain  way  of  thinking. 

Born  of  good  old  New  England  stock,  he  spent  his 
studious,  hard-working  boyhood  on  a  farm.  At  six 
teen  he  went  to  the  high  school,  where  he  was  adored 
by  his  teachers  because  he  stood  ninety-nine  in  algebra. 
Inconsequently,  but  inevitably,  this  rendered  him  shy 
in  the  presence  of  girls,  and  unwarrantably  conscious 
of  his  hands  and  feet.  So,  when  he  went  to  college,  he 
spent  much  time  in  the  library,  more  in  the  laboratory, 
and  none  at  all  in  the  elemental  little  chaos  of  a  world 
that  can  do  so  much  for  the  wearers  of  queer  clothes 
and  queerer  habits  of  thought.  He  graduated,  a  spec 
tacled  grind,  bowed  of  shoulder,  straight  of  hair,  ear 
nest  of  thought. 

Much  reading  of  abstract  speculation  had  developed 
in  him  a  reverence  for  the  impractical  that  amounted 
almost  to  obsession.  Given  a  bit  of  useless  informa 
tion  and  a  chunk  of  solid  wisdom,  he  would  at  once 

14 


THE  MAN   WHO   STOOD   "99"     15 

bestow  his  preference  on  the  former,  provided,  always, 
it  were  theoretical  enough.  He  knew  the  dips  of  strata 
from  their  premonitary  surface  wiggles  to  their  final 
plunges  into  unknown  and  heated  depths.  He  could 
deliver  to  you  a  cross-section  of  your  pasture  lot, 
streaked  like  the  wind-clouds  of  early  winter ;  and  he 
could  explain  it  in  the  most  technical  language.  Noth 
ing  rock-ribbed  and  ancient  escaped  him  in  his  frequent 
walks.  He  saw  everything — except,  perchance,  the 
beauty  that  clothes  the  rock-ribbed  and  ancient  as  a 
delicate  aura,  invisible  to  the  eye  of  science — and  he 
labelled  what  he  saw,  and  ticketed  it  away  in  the 
pigeon-holes  of  his  many-chambered  mind,  where  he 
could  put  his  finger  on  it  at  any  given  moment  in  the 
easiest  fashion  in  the  world. 

It  is  very  pleasant  to  know  where  the  Paleozoic  has 
faulted,  and  how ;  or  why  the  stratifications  of  the  ice 
age  do  not  show  glacial  scorings  in  certain  New  Eng 
land  localities.  To  verify  in  regard  to  lamination  green 
volumes  of  obese  proportions,  or  to  recognize  the  pro 
jection  into  the  geological  physical  world  of  the 
thought  of  a  master,  this  is  fine,  is  noble ;  this  makes 
to  glow  the  kindly  light  in  spectacled  blue  eyes. 

Adoniram  Welch  left  college  with  many  honors. 
He  returned  to  his  little  New  England  village,  and  for 
a  space  was  looked  upon  as  a  local  celebrity.  This  is 
a  bad  thing  for  most  youths,  but  Adoniram  it  affected 
not  at  all.  It  availed  only  to  draw  upon  him,  in  sweet 
contemplation,  another  pair  of  blue  eyes,  womanly, 
serious  blue  eyes,  under  a  tangle  of  curly  golden  hair. 

And  so,  although  Prue  Welch  was  a  homely  name, 
and  Prue  Winterborne  a  beautiful  one,  when  Adoni 
ram  accepted  the  chair  of  geology  offered  him  by  his 


16  THE   WESTERNERS 

alma  mater,  the  owner  of  the  blue  eyes  went  with  him, 
and  the  new  professor's  thick  spectacles  somehow 
glowed  with  a  kindly  warmth,  which  even  fine  speci 
mens  of  the  finest  fossils  had  never  been  able  to  kindle. 
He  settled  down  into  a  little  white  house,  in  a  little 
blossomy  "  yard,"  under  a  very  big,  motherly  elm,  and 
gave  his  days  to  the  earnest  mental  dissection  of  the 
cuticle  of  the  globe.  His  wife  attacked  the  problem 
of  life  on  six  hundred  dollars  a  year. 

Now,  from  this  state  of  affairs  sprang  two  results. 
The  professor  evolved  a  theory,  and  Mrs.  Professor, 
although  she  did  not  in  the  least  understand  what  it 
was  all  about,  came  to  believe  in  it,  to  champion  it,  to 
consider  it  quite  the  most  important  affair  of  the  age. 
The  professor  thought  so,  too;  and  so  they  were 
happy  and  united. 

The  theory  was  a  tremendous  affair,  having  to  do 
with  nothing  less  than  the  formation  of  our  continent. 
It  was  revolutionary  in  the  extreme,  but  shed  such 
illumination  in  hitherto  dark  corners  of  this  and  allied 
subjects  that  its  probability,  prima  facie,  was  practi 
cally  assured.  To  Prue  Welch  it  seemed  to  be  quite  so ; 
but  the  inexorable  eye  of  science  discerned  breaks  in 
the  chain  of  continuity,  gaps  in  the  procession  of 
proofs,  which,  while  not  of  vast  importance  in  a  spe 
cious  argument  designed  to  furnish  with  peptonized 
intellectual  pabulum  the  more  frivolous-minded  lay 
man,  nevertheless  sufficed  to  destroy  utterly  its  worth 
as  a  serious  hypothesis.  These  breaks,  the  professor 
explained,  could  never  be  filled  except  by  actual  field- 
work.  The  proper  field,  he  assured  her,  was  the  coun 
try  of  the  Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota,  then  as  distant 
as  the  antipodes.  He  proved  this  scientifically.  Prue 


THE   MAN   WHO   STOOD  "99"     17 

agreed,  but  did  not  understand.  A  number  of  years 
later  she  did  understand,  from  hearing  Billy  Knapp 
joking  with  Alfred. 

"  These  yar  hills,"  said  Billy,  "  was  made  last.  The 
Lo'd  had  a  little  of  everything  left  when  he'd  finished 
the  rest,  so  he  chucked  it  down  on  the  prairie,  an' 
called  it  the  Black  Hills." 

However,  the  mere  fact  of  her  comprehension  mat 
tered  not  one  iota.  If  Adoniram  said  a  thing  was  so, 
to  Prue  its  truth  at  once  became  age-old. 

So  it  happened  that  the  great  theory  hung  fire  wo- 
fully,  and  the  country  of  their  dreams  came  to  lie  be 
yond  the  frontier  wilderness,  whose  tide  was  but  just 
beginning  to  ebb  back  from  the  pine  woods  of  Wiscon 
sin  and  the  oak  openings  of  Illinois.  This  was  finality. 
What  lay  beyond  they  did  not  trouble  to  inquire.  The 
professor  sighed  the  sigh  of  patient  abnegation.  The 
professor's  wife  believed,  with  beautiful  trust,  that  a 
divine  providence  would  provide,  and  that  with  the 
earth-wide  fame  that  must  accrue  to  the  author  of 
New  World  Erosions  would  come  added  opportunity  for 
added  reputation. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  kind-hearted  little  pro 
fessor  looked  steadfastly  out  of  the  window  during  ex 
aminations  in  geology,  and  turned  a  resolute  deaf  ear 
to  the  rustling  of  leaves  as  the  despairing  student 
manipulated  a  cleverly  concealed  volume.  For  a  num 
ber  of  years  he  came  home  at  four  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  and  feverishly  corrected  blue  books  until  six, 
in  order  to  ransom  from  professional  duties  the  whole 
of  the  precious  evening.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
consulted  authorities  in  German  and  other  difficult 
languages,  and  waxed  ever  more  enthusiastic  over  the 


i8  THE  WESTERNERS 

new  theory  of  erosions.  During  the  interim  the  baby 
learned  to  walk,  and  Prue's  belief  in  its  father  strength 
ened,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible.  In  time  the  pro 
fessor  and  his  wife  grew  to  be  quite  old.  He  looked 
every  bit  of  his  thirty,  and  she  was  an  aged  dowager 
of  twenty-five.  Little  Miss  Prue  was  just  two  and  a 
half. 

One  day,  early  in  the  spring,  the  professor  was  called 
to  the  door  of  his  class-room  to  receive  a  telegram.  He 
read  it  quietly,  then  dismissed  his  class,  and  went 
home. 

"  Prue,"  said  he  to  his  wife,  "  my  father  has  just 
died.  I  must  go  up  there  at  once,  for  he  was  all  I  had 
left  in  the  world,  and  it  is  not  seemly  that  I  should  be 
from  his  side." 

You  can  see  from  his  manner  of  speech  that  the  pro 
fessor  had  by  now  read  a  great  many  bookish  books. 

"  We  will  go  together,"  replied  Prue. 

So  they  put  away  mortality  in  the  old  Puritan  fash 
ion,  standing  wistful,  but  tearless,  hand  in  hand,  on 
the  hither  side  of  grief ;  for  though  in  perspective  the 
figure  of  the  old  New  Englander  loomed  with  a  cer 
tain  gloomy  and  ascetic  grandeur,  in  the  daily  contact 
he  had  always  held  himself  sternly  and  straitly  in  fear 
of  God.  For  him  the  twin  lamps  of  Science  and  Love 
had  burned  but  darkly. 

Adoniram  Welch  found  himself  sole  heir  of  a  few 
thousands  and  the  old  home. 

On  the  way  back  to  the  college  town,  they  planned 
the  Western  trip.  The  professor  was  to  resign  his 
chair  at  once.  He  and  Mrs.  Prue  and  little  Miss  Prue 
would  travel  by  rail  to  Kansas  or  Iowa,  there  to  join 
one  of  the  wagon-trains  which  now,  in  the  height  of 


THE  MAN   WHO   STOOD  "99"     19 

the  first  great  gold  excitement,  continually  braved 
savage  warfare  and  brute  thirst  to  gain  the  dark 
shadows  of  the  hills. 

During  the  next  three  weeks,  Prue  was  a  busy 
woman.  The  professor  resigned,  becoming  thereby 
only  "  the  doctor "  ;  had  an  explanatory  interview 
with  the  president  of  the  college,  and  gave  himself 
over  to  a  series  of  delightful  potterings.  He  pottered 
about  among  his  belongings,  and  personally  super 
intended  just  how  everything  was  not  stowed  away. 
He  pottered  about  among  the  faculty,  to  the  members 
of  which  he  talked  mysteriously  with  ill-concealed  ex 
ultation,  for  the  theory  was  also  a  secret.  He  lovingly 
packed  his  books  and  papers  and  a  small  portion  of  his 
clothes,  all  of  which  Prue  had  to  hunt  out  and  repack. 
Altogether,  he  had  a  delightful,  absent-minded  time, 
seeing  in  the  actual  world  no  further  than  the  end  of 
his  nose,  but  in  the  visionary  world  of  his  most  techni 
cal  hopes  far  beyond  the  farthest  star. 

But  Prue  had  a  New  England  village  to  answer ;  she 
had  the  family's  belongings  to  take  care  of — no  great 
task  in  itself;  she  had  little  Miss  Prue  to  oversee. 
Grave  men  who  were  professors  of  astronomy, .  or 
Greek  antiquities,  or  Hebrew,  and  who,  therefore, 
knew  all  about  it,  told  her,  in  language  of  whose  cor 
rectness  Addison  would  have  been  proud,  that  the 
aborigines  of  the  American  plains  were  bloodthirsty 
in  the  extreme.  Fluttering  women  detailed  anecdotes 
of  sudden  death  at  the  hands  of  Indians.  One  and  all 
bade  her  good-by  with  the  firm  conviction,  openly  ex 
pressed, .that  she  would  never  return;  upon  which  all 
whom  weeping  became  wept,  while  others  displayed 
their  best  handkerchiefs  as  a  sort  of  defiant  substitute 


20  THE   WESTERNERS 

for  more  open  emotion.  Prue  saw  the  little  town  fade 
into  distance  with  mingled  feelings,  of  which  terror  was 
the  predominant,  until  her  husband  explained  to  her, 
by  the  aid  of  an  airy  little  octavo  which  he  had  stuffed 
into  an  inadequate  bag,  that  Professor  Nincomb's 
theory  of  glacial  action  was  not  only  false,  but  would 
be  conclusively  proved  to  be  so  by  the  new  theory  of 
erosion.  At  this  she  brightened.  Prue  owned  to  a 
vague  impression  that  glacial  action  had  something  to 
do  with  the  North  Pole,  so  the  argument  per  se  had 
little  weight  with  her.  But  Prue  was  a  New  Eng- 
lander,  and  devout  in  the  New  England  fashion,  and 
she  settled  back  on  Divine  Providence  with  great 
thankfulness.  She  argued  that  no  scheme  of  things 
could  dispense  ruthlessly  with  so  wonderful  an  affair 
as  the  theory  of  erosions.  Therefore  the  scheme  of 
things  would  take  care  of  the  only  possessor  of  the 
theory.  Indians  lost  their  terrors,  she  and  little  Miss 
Prue  fell  asleep  together,  leaving  the  doctor  still  por 
ing  excitedly  over  the  octavo  of  Professor  Nincomb. 

Their  first  serious  difficulties  were  encountered  at 
Three  Rivers.  Of  course,  in  the  circumstances,  the 
mild  little  doctor  quite  failed  in  his  attempts  to  secure 
transportation.  How  should  he,  a  scientist,  know  or 
care  anything  about  gold  excitements?  The  hustle 
confused  him,  the  crowd  stunned  him,  the  fierce  self- 
reliance  and  lack  of  consideration  of  these  rough  men 
alarmed  him. 

He  came  back  to  the  board  hotel  very  much  dis 
couraged.  "  There  is  not  a  conveyance  of  any  sort  to 
be  found,"  he  informed  Mrs.  Prue,  "  and  there  is  great 
difficulty  in  estimating  the  precise  duration  of  the  pres 
ent  state  of  affairs.  It  may  continue  into  next  sum- 


THE   MAN   WHO   STOOD   -99"     21 

mer ;  or  so,  at  least,  I  was  informed  by  a  very  estimable 
person." 

That  was  unbearable.  Think  of  little  Miss  Prue 
being  required,  in  the  third  year  of  her  diminutive 
life,  to  face  the  heat  of  the  plains  in  midsummer! 
Think  of  the  cost  of  living  a  twelvemonth  in  such  a 
place  as  Three  Rivers  !  Prue  put  on  her  hat  and  went 
out  into  the  turbulent  camp.  Until  that  moment  she 
had  deemed  it  wisest  to  remain  in  her  room. 

She  was  greeted  only  with  respect.  Men  paused 
and  looked  after  her.  You  see,  Prue  had  such  grave, 
calm  eyes,  that  looked  straight  at  you  with  so  much 
confidence ;  and  such  a  sensitive,  serious  mouth,  that 
argued  such  a  capacity  for  making  up  quiet  opinions 
of  people — and  acting  on  them — that  you  were  always 
very  much  inclined  to  take  off  your  hat,  even  if  you 
were  Tony  Quinn  and  middling  drunk.  It  was  not 
ten  minutes  before  she  had  corroborated  the  doctor's 
bad  news ;  but  she  had  also  heard  incidentally  of  Billy 
Knapp,  Alfred,  and  Buckley,  The  hotel-keeper 
pointed  out  the  latter — that  quiet  man  with  the  brown 
beard.  Prue  went  straight  to  him  and  stated  her  case. 

In  the  statement  she  laid  great  stress  on  the  impor 
tance  of  the  dip  of  strata.  If  the  doctor  did  not  get  to 
work  before  long,  he  would  be  unable  to  finish  his 
explorations  before  his  means  had  become  exhausted. 
Prue  waxed  quite  technical.  She  used  a  number  of 
long  words  and  a  few  long  phrases,  hoping  thus  to 
awe  the  calm  and  contemplative  individual  in  front  of 
her. 

Buckley  did  not  comprehend  the  reasons.  He  did 
comprehend  the  unutterable  eloquence  of  the  eyes,  for 
though  her  logic  went  for  naught  with  the  scout,  it 


22  THE   WESTERNERS 

succeeded  nevertheless  in  impressing  Prue  herself,  in 
bringing  more  vividly  before  her  the  importance  of  it 
all.  She  clasped  her  hands,  and  tears  choked  her. 
When  she  had  finished,  Jim  said  gravely  that  she 
should  go. 


IV 

ALFRED   USES   HIS  SIX-SHOOTER 

MICHAIL  LAFOND  merely  spread  the  news, 
and  made  it  a  subject  of  discussion.  In  his 
statements  he  said  nothing  of  his  own  griev 
ance,  nor  did  he  suggest  a  plan.  He  knew  that  this 
was  not  a  case  for  violence,  nor  did  he  care  that  it 
should  become  such.  His  actions  always  depended 
very  much  on  how  an  impulse  hit  his  queerly  con 
structed  nature.  In  the  present  instance  he  might 
either  resolve  to  get  even  with  Billy  Knapp  by  means 
of  personal  vengeance,  or  his  anger  might  take  the 
direction  of  a  cold,  set  determination  to  get  through 
the  plains  journey  in  spite  of  the  scout's  prohibition. 
That  the  latter,  rather  than  the  former  course  happened 
to  appeal  to  him,  was  purely  a  matter  of  chance.  So, 
though  he  said  little  to  the  direct  point,  the  plan  finally 
adopted  in  secret  by  a  choice  few  had  a  good  deal  of 
his  desire  mingled  in  its  substance. 

The  quiescence  of  the  camp  astonished  and  puzzled 
the  three  scouts.  They  had  expected  an  outbreak,  and 
were  prepared  for  it.  It  did  not  come. 

The  three  days  slipped  by ;  everything  was  packed ; 
and  early  in  the  morning,  before  the  dawn's  freshness 
had  left  the  air,  the  little  band  defiled  across  the  prairie. 
A  curious  crowd  gathered  sleepily  to  watch  it  go,  but 
there  was  no  demonstration.  Billy  openly  congratu 
lated  himself.  Alfred  looked  to  see  that  his  revolvers 
were  still  capped. 

•ft 


24  THE  WESTERNERS 

The  party  comprised  an  even  dozen  "  schooners," 
each  drawn  by  four  tough  ponies.  Besides  these,  a 
dozen  men  rode  on  horseback.  On  occasion,  their 
mounts  could  be  pressed  into  draft  service.  The  men 
themselves  were  a  representative  lot;  tall,  bronzed, 
silent.  They  had  taken  part  in  the  fierce  Indian  wars, 
then  just  beginning  to  lull ;  they  had  ridden  pony- 
express  with  Wild  Bill ;  they  had  stalked  revenue  of 
ficers  in  the  mountains  of  Tennessee.  As  they  strode 
with  free  grace  beside  their  teams,  or  sat,  with  loose- 
swaying  shoulders,  their  wiry  little  broncos,  they 
drew  to  themselves  in  the  early  light  the  impressive- 
ness  of  an  age — the  age  of  pioneers. 

At  their  head  rode  Billy  Knapp.  At  their  rear  rode 
Jim  Buckley.  Alfred  was  a  little  of  everywhere  at  once. 
As  a  matter  of  habit,  these  three  carried  their  rifles 
cross-fashion  in  front  of  them,  but  the  new  Winchesters 
and  the  old  long-barrelled  pieces  of  the  other  score  of 
men  were  still  slung  inside  the  canvas  covers,  for  the 
Indian  country  was  yet  to  see.  Beneath  the  axles  hung 
pails.  The  wagons  contained  much  food,  a  good  sup 
ply  of  ammunition,  and  a  scanty  equipment  of  the  com 
forts  of  life.  In  one  of  them  were  three  wooden  boxes, 
two  trunks,  the  doctor,  Mrs.  Prue,  and  little  Miss  Prue 
herself,  laughingly  proud  at  being  allowed  to  dangle 
along  the  dew-wet  grass  the  heavy  coil  of  a  black 
snake  whip. 

The  men  shouted  suddenly,  the  horses  leaned  to 
their  collars,  the  wagons  creaked,  and  the  swaying  pro 
cession  began  to  loom  huge  and  ghost-like  in  the  mist 
that  steamed  golden-white  from  the  surface  of  the 
prairie. 

Then,  from  the  haze  of  the  town,  six  more  wagons 


ALFRED  USES  HIS  SIX-SHOOTER    25 

silently  detached  themselves,  and  followed  in  the  wake 
of  the  first. 

This  second  caravan  differed  from  the  other  in  that 
it  deployed  no  outriders,  and  from  the  close-drawn 
canvas  of  its  wagons  came,  once  in  a  while,  the  sharp 
cry  of  a  child,  followed  immediately  by  the  comforting 
of  a  woman.  The  men  drove  from  the  seats,  and  across 
the  lap  of  each  was  a  weapon. 

About  five  miles  out,  the  first  caravan  halted  until 
the  second  drew  nearer.  Billy  Knapp  cantered  back 
to  it.  One  of  the  men  in  the  foremost  wagon  there 
upon  clamped  the  brake  and  jumped  to  the  ground, 
where  he  stood,  leaning  on  the  muzzle  of  his  big  moun 
taineer's  rifle,  chewing  a  nonchalant  plug. 

"  What's  this  ? "  demanded  Billy,  reining  in  his 
horse. 

The  man  shifted  his  quid. 

"  Nawthin',"  he  drawled,  "  'xcept  that  this  yare  out 
fit's  a-goin'  too." 

Billy's  eyes  snapped. 

"  We  settled  all  thet  afore,"  said  he,  with  outward 
calm. 

"This  yare  outfit's  a-goin'  too,"  reiterated  the 
man. 

"The  hell  it  is!"  cried  the  scout  angrily.  "We 
all  said  no  women  and  no  poor  hosses,  and  that  goes. 
Yore  hosses  are  a  lot  of  crowbait,  and " 

"  The  women  is  women  as  is  women,"  cried  another 
voice,  "  and  not  yore  leetle  white-faced,  yaller-haired 
sort  that'd  keel  over  if  yo'  said  boo  to  her !  " 

During  the  laconic  dialogue,  the  schooners  had 
gradually  drawn  nearer,  until  now  they  were  grouped 
in  a  rough  crescent  around  the  two  men.  Billy  looked 


26  THE   WESTERNERS 

up  to  see  a  tall  woman  in  blue  gingham  haranguing 
him  from  behind  one  of  the  seats. 

"  I  reckon  if  she  can  go,  we  can ;  and  you  jest  chalk 
that  down,  Mr.  Speckleface  !  "  she  went  on.  Billy  was 
slightly  pockmarked. 

Other  canvas  flaps  opened,  and  the  audience  was  in 
creased  by  half. 

"  We're  goin',"  went  on  the  woman,  "  whether  you 
want  us  to  or  not ;  an'  what's  more,  you  got  t'  take 
care  of  us  in  the  Injun  country,  an'  if  you  don't  I'll 
curse  you  from  the  grave,  you  white-livered,  no  'count 
cradle  robber,  you !  Folks  has  some  rights  on  the 
plains,  an'  you  know  it  jest's  well  as  I  do,  an'  if  you 
think  you  can  shake  yore  ole  pals  for  a  lot  of  no  'count 
tenderfeet,  an'  not  find  trouble,  you  jest  fools  yoreself 
up  a  lot,  let  me  tell  you  that.  If  Dave  yere  had  thj 
sperrit  of  a  coyote,  he'd  fix  you,  Mr.  Scout !  "  with  vast 
contempt. 

"  You  men  are  all  alike !  A  pretty  face "  began 

the  virago  again,  but  Billy  had  fled  at  speed. 

The  man,  who  had  been  chuckling  silently,  spat  and 
threw  the  rifle  into  the  hollow  of  his  arm. 

"  Good  for  you,  Susie,"  he  remarked. 

"  You  shut  up !  "  replied  Susie  with  acerbity,  and 
retired  within.  The  man  had  yet  to  learn  that  one 
should  never  voluntarily  step  within  the  notice  of  an 
angry  woman. 

The  two  wagon-trains  proceeded  as  before — one 
behind  the  other  by  about  half  a  mile. 

At  intervals  Billy  or  Jim  went  back  to  expostulate. 
They  might  be  able  to  undertake  the  responsibility  of 
one  woman,  hardly  of  nine!  But  they  never  got  a 
hearing,  as  all  the  conversation  was  vituperative  and 
one-sided. 


ALFRED  USES  HIS  SIX-SHOOTER     27 

Alfred  led  the  party  to  a  deep,  swift  crossing  of  the 
Platte.  By  the  aid  of  the  extra  ponies  the  ford  was 
made  without  loss.  The  second  party  had  a  hard 
struggle,  but  emerged  dripping  and  triumphant. 

Billy  and  Jim  were  again  put  to  rout  in  an  attempt 
at  mere  verbal  dissuasion. 

Alfred  took  them  roundabout  through  a  piece  of 
country,  cut  and  gullied  by  rains.  Some  hills  they 
climbed  by  the  help  of  long  ropes.  The  second  party 
dragged  their  wagons  up  singly,  using  all  their  animals 
to  each  wagon.  They  lost  some  time,  but  the  evening 
of  the  day  following  they  strung  out  in  the  rear  as 
imperturbably  as  ever.  Alfred  ordered  all  the  riders 
into  the  wagons,  and,  by  alternating  the  ponies,  made 
forced  marches,  hoping  thus  to  shake  the  others  off. 
The  others,  however,  discovering  that  Alfred's  party 
had  been  doubling  and  twisting  through  the  worst 
country,  detached  a  single  rider,  whose  business  it  was 
to  search  out  the  directest  and  easiest  route.  Thus 
they  caught  up.  Alfred  discovered  it  too  late,  for  they 
were  now  on  the  borders  of  the  Indian  country. 

Here  a  serious  problem  presented  itself.  The  second 
party  had,  up  to  now,  made  no  attempt  to  close  in  and 
join  forces.  On  entering  the  Indian  country,  they 
would  certainly  do  so.  The  question  was,  whether 
they  should  be  resisted  or  received. 

If  they  were  not  repulsed,  could  they  be  brought 
through  successfully?  If  they  were  resisted,  would 
the  resistance  be  effective?  One  thing  or  the  other 
must  be  decided  immediately,  for,  whatever  the  policy 
adopted,  it  must  be  a  settled  policy  before  entering 
hostile  ground. 

In  the  contest  of  endurance,  the  i  core  of  men  com- 


28  THE  WESTERNERS 

prising  the  main  party  had  taken  part  amusedly.  They 
were  under  the  command  of  the  scouts.  When  thie 
scouts  ordered  speed,  speed  was  made.  When  they 
said  to  climb  hills,  hills  were  climbed.  When  they 
advised  difficult  fords,  the  difficulties  of  crossing  were 
overcome.  If  the  other  train  had  trouble  keeping  up 
with  the  procession,  why,  that  was  good  enough  fun. 
But  actual  resistance  was  a  different  matter.  After 
all,  according  to  their  lights,  these  other  men  were 
entirely  in  the  right.  They  had  been  excluded  from 
the  expedition,  on  the  basis  of  a  rule  which  had  been 
agreed  to  after  some  grumbling;  and  now  that  the 
rule  had  been  broken  by  the  very  framers  of  it,  there 
seemed  to  be  no  longer  fair  grounds  of  exclusion  ;  and 
therefore  a  certain  rough  sense  of  justice  inclined  them 
to  take  sides  with  the  bearers  of  the  pea  rifles  in  the 
rear.  At  the  same  time,  they  felt  the  truth  of  Billy's 
statement,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  so  un 
wieldy  a  caravan  over  the  rough  country  and  through 
the  dangers  to  come.  So,  seeing  reason  on  both  sides, 
they  maintained  a  guarded  neutrality. 

Resistance  being  out  of  the  question,  the  three  next 
considered  the  other  horn  of  the  dilemma.  Alfred  rode 
over  to  examine  the  prospective  addition  to  the  party. 
He  found  the  animals  in  poor  condition,  partly  because 
of  the  forced  marches  he  had  himself  imposed.  In  his 
opinion  they  would  not  last  out  the  journey,  and  he  so 
reported,  to  the  great  consternation  of  the  other  two. 

While  they  lamented,  Prue  came  up  and  heard  a 
part.  She  demanded  the  whole,  and  they  told  her 
frankly.  The  heroine  of  romance,  realizing  herself  the 
cause  of  the  trouble,  would  have  offered  to  return  with 
the  other  women,  and  so  the  whole  question  would 


ALFRED  USES  HIS  SIX-SHOOTER     29 

have  been  resolved ;  but  Prue  was  only  a  very  nice 
little  woman,  in  love  with  her  husband.  Her  chief  con 
cern  was  not  the  triumph  of  eternal  justice,  but  whether 
the  whole  expedition  would  come  .to  nothing.  She 
pondered. 

"  If  you  can't  keep  them  from  going  with  us,  and 
if  you  can't  get  through  if  they  do  go  with  us,"  she 
said  finally,  "  it  seems  to  me  that  the  only  way  to  fix 
it  would  be  to  do  something  so  they  couldn't  go  " — 
with  which  vague  hint  this  Puritan  looked  wickedly  at 
them  all,  and  went  away,  clinching  her  small  hands 
with  anger.  From  the  hint,  they  made  a  plan  to  which 
all  three  agreed. 

Next  morning  Jim  roused  the  camp  an  hour  earlier 
than  usual,  and  insisted  on  an  immediate  departure. 
The  horses  were  hitched,  and  the  breakfast  things  put 
away.  Then  Alfred  rode  over  to  the  other  camp,  with 
Jim  and  Billy  following  at  a  little  distance. 

People  start  a  camp  on  the  plains,  in  a  safe  country, 
by  arranging  the  wagons  in  a  rough  semicircle.  Be 
hind  this  semicircle  the  horses  are  hobbled,  and  left  to 
graze.  In  front  of  it  the  cooking-fire  is  built.  During 
the  night,  besides  the  regular  sentinels,  one  man  is 
assigned  to  ride  herd,  but  this  is  unnecessary  in  full 
daylight ;  so  at  breakfast  the  horses  are  left  to  graze 
quite  unprotected.  In  a  hostile  country,  picket  ropes 
and  more  care  are  needed.  This  party  had  so  hobbled 
twenty-four  animals — four  for  each  wagon,  which  is  a 
scant  supply. 

Alfred  cantered  rapidly  up  to  the  herd  from  the  east. 
He  had  made  a  long  detour,  so  as  to  approach  in  the 
eye  of  the  sun.  With  the  twelve  chambers  of  his  re 
volvers  he  killed  eleven  horses.  As  I  have  said,  Alfred 


30  THE  WESTERNERS 

was  one  of  the  best  pistol  shots  in  the  middle  West 
After  this,  he  put  spurs  to  his  mount,  and  shot  away 
like  an  arrow  in  the  direction  of  his  own  camp. 

The  unsuspicious  mountaineers,  at  breakfast,  did 
not  gather  their  wits  until  too  late.  Then  eight  of 
them  leaped  fiercely  upon  some  of  the  remaining  ani 
mals,  and  pursued  the  wagon-train,  which,  under  the 
frantic  urging  of  Billy  and  Jim,  was  already  under  way 
in  close  order.  A  few  of  their  bullets  spattered  against 
the  wagon-bodies,  and  they  wounded  a  horse. 

This  roused  the  other  men.  Neutrality  was  all  right 
enough,  but  they  could  not  afford  to  lose  horses,  so 
they  made  such  a  brave  show  of  rifle  muzzles  that  the 
eight  fell  back.  Three  to  one  was  too  big  odds ;  but 
their  rage  was  great. 

Then  Jim  took  his  life  in  his  hands,  and  rode  a 
little  way  out  on  the  prairie  toward  them,  waving  a 
"white  handkerchief.  Somebody  shot  at  him,  and  bored 
a  hole  through  the  looseness  of  his  flannel  shirt,  where 
upon  he  dismounted  and  dropped  two  horses  with  his 
new-model  Winchester.  His  own  horse  was  killed  in 
the  exchange,  but  Jim  could  take  care  of  himself  in 
frontier  fashion. 

Before  the  men  could  reload  or  move,  Jim,  imper- 
turbably,  arose  from  behind  his  dead  mount,  and  waved 
his  white  handkerchief  again.  There  was  a  moment's 
hesitation,  then  someone  returned  the  signal.  Jim 
promptly  advanced.  His  remarks  were  brief  and  busi 
nesslike,  and  were  received  in  sullen  silence. 

"  You  fellows  have  got  to  go  back,"  said  he.  "  You 
have  hosses  enough  left  to  get  your  women  back  with, 
by  goin'  slow.  If  you  try  to  shoot  us  up  any,  we'll  kill 
every  hoof  you  have.  So  don't  come  any  funny  busi- 


ALFRED  USES  HIS  SIX-SHOOTER    31 

He  turned  squarely  on  his  heel,  and  walked  away 
rapidly.  He  wanted  to  get  his  distance  before  the  re 
action  came.  Michail  Lafond,  no  longer  impassive, 
shook  his  rifle  after  him. 

"  You  damn  skunk !  "  he  shouted,  hoarse  with  anger. 
"  Tell  your  damn  woman  I'll  pull  every  hair  from  her 
head  1  " 

Jim  did  not  turn  his  head,  but  ducked  into  the  long; 
grass,  where  he  wriggled  along  Indian  fashion.  La- 
fond,  who  had  thrown  his  rifle  in'.o  position  for  a  shot, 
started  forward  in  pursuit,  his  face  twisted  with  pas 
sion,  but  he  was  dragged  back  by  main  strength.  Two 
of  the  horses  bore  double,  and  the  little  group  turned 
sullenly  toward  the  east. 

The  mood  of  the  original  party,  after  this  incident,, 
was  grim.  The  bonds  of  plains  brotherhood  had  been 
lightly  broken. 

Alfred  had  resorted  to  such  desperate  measures  in: 
making  the  best  of  undesirable  conditions  brought  to 
pass  by  someone  else. 

Billy  Knapp  had  done  so  because  he  had  entered 
into  a  game,  and  declined  to  be  beaten  by  anyone. 

Jim  alone  was  happy.  He  had  done  it  solely  and 
simply  for  a  woman;  and  the  woman  had  seen  him 
fight  for  her. 


V 

LAFOND  DESERTS 

THE  eight  men  of  the  attacking  party  returned 
slowly  to  the  little  dip  of  land  which  held  the 
temporary  camp.  They  were  defeated,  baffled, 
and  angry.  If  a  stranger  had  accosted  them  at  that 
moment,  he  would  probably  have  been  gruffly  an 
swered  one  minute  and  assaulted  the  next.  But  for 
the  present  they  were  silent.  They  were  Anglo- 
Saxons  and  Tennessee  mountaineers  for  the  most  part ; 
hence  they  were  also  adaptable,  and  attuned  to  the 
fatalism  that  comes  from  much  contemplating  of 
cloud-capped  peaks  and  wind-swept  pines. 

Not  so  with  Michail  Lafond,  who  alternately  raved 
and  wept,  frantically  brandishing  his  rifle.  An  impas 
sive  mountaineer  sat  behind  him,  holding  him  to  the 
party.  If  not  thus  restrained,  he  would,  in  the  heat  of 
anger,  have  attacked  the  whole  train  single-handed,  for 
he  was  brave  enough  in  his  way.  The  sober  second- 
thought  of  the  Indian  in  him  might  perhaps  have 
caused  him  to  pause  on  the  brink  of  the  charge  and 
sink  into  the  long  grasses  to  await  the  chance  of  a  more 
silent  blow;  but  the  impulse  up  to  that  point  would 
have  been  real  and  whole-souled.  So  it  was  now.  The 
man  raved  as  a  maniac  might.  He  called  down  the 
curses  of  heaven  on  his  companions  for  cowards. 

And  in  this,  when  he  reached  camp,  he  was  ably 
seconded  by  the  women.  They  surrounded  him  in  a 
voluble  and  indignant  group,  and  listened  to  him  with 

32 


LAFOND  DESERTS  33 

sympathy,  casting  glances  of  scorn  toward  their  pas 
sive  lords  and  masters  in  the  background.  In  their 
way  they  became  as  excited  as  Lafond.  One  or  two 
wept.  Most  employed  the  variety  of  their  vocabularies 
in  giving  the  world  what  is  known  as  a  "  piece  of  their 
minds." 

In  the  still  air  of  a  prairie  morning  their  hysterical 
cackle  rose  like  the  crying  of  an  indignant  band  of 
brant.  Lafond  told,  dramatically,  what  should  have 
been  done.  The  women,  in  turn,  told  how  effectively 
they  would  have  done  it.  The  men  were  taking  stock 
of  the  situation. 

The  mountaineers  wasted  little  discussion  on  what 
might  have  been  done.  The  question  before  them  was 
that  of  the  most  practical  method  of  returning  over  the 
.ong  miles  of  prairie  they  had  traversed  in  their  pursuit 
of  Alfred  and  his  outfit.  They  entertained  not  a  mo 
ment's  doubt  as  to  the  necessity  of  the  return.  Their 
equipment  consisted  now  of  ten  horses  and  six  wagons. 
By  humoring  the  animals  they  might  be  able  to  get 
through  with  a  pair  to  each  schooner.  This  meant  the 
abandonment  of  one  of  the  wagons,  and  the  lightening 
of  the  others.  It  was  decided.  One  of  the  men  strode 
to  the  group  of  women. 

Lafond  was  in  the  midst  of  a  tirade,  but  when  he 
saw  the  mountaineer  approach,  he  prepared  to  pay 
eager  attention  to  the  plan  of  action. 

"  H'yar,"  announced  the  latter,  with  a  little  the 
heavier  shading  on  his  accustomed  drawl,  "  that's 
enough  of  this  h'yar  jaw,  I  reckon.  You-all  come 
along  and  pack  up." 

"  And  when  is  it  that  we  do  pursue  them  ?  "  asked 
Lafond  eagerly. 


34  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Pursue  nothin'/'  replied  the  man.  "  We're  goin' 
back." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence. 

"  And  you  intend  not  to  get  that  revenge  ?  "  the 
half-breed  inquired. 

"  Revenge  !  "  snorted  the  man.  "  You  damn  fool — 
with  that  outfit  ?  "  He  swept  a  descriptive  gesture 
toward  the  women.  "  Besides,  what's  the  good  now?  " 
Lafond  fell  silent,  and  withdrew  from  the  group. 

The  man  of  mixed  blood  is  not  like  other  men,  and 
cannot  be  judged  by  the  standards  of  either  race. 
From  his  ancestors  he  takes  qualities  haphazard,  with 
out  balance  or  proportion,  so  that  the  defects  of  virtues 
may  often  occur  without  the  assistance  of  the  virtues 
themselves.  And,  besides,  he  develops  traits  native  to 
neither  of  the  parent  races,  traits  which  perhaps  can 
never  be  comprehended 'by  us  who  call  ourselves  the 
saner  people.  He  is  superstitious,  given  to  strange 
impulses,  which  may  unexpectedly,  and  without  reason, 
harden  into  convictions;  obscure  in  his  ends;  un 
scrupulous  in  his  means.  No  man  lives  who  can  pre 
dict  what  may  or  may  not  suffice  to  set  into  motion 
the  machinery  of  his  passions.  A  triviality  is  enough 
to-day.  To-morrow  the  stroke  of  a  sledge  may  not 
even  jar  the  cogs.  But,  once  started,  the  results  may 
be  tremendous,  and  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  first 
careless  touch  on  the  lever.  Such  passions  are  dan 
gerous,  both  to  their  possessor  and  to  those  who  stand 
in  their  way. 

Now,  from  the  gainsaying  of  his  lesser  revenge — 
the  proving  to  Billy  Knapp  the  futility  of  his  objec 
tions — Lafond  conceived  the  desire  for  a  greater. 
There  entered  into  his  life  one  of  those  absorbing  pas- 


LAFOND   DESERTS  35 

sions  which  are  to  be  encountered  in  all  their  intensity 
only  in  such  men  as  he — passions  which  come  to  be 
ruling  motives  in  the  lives  of  those  who  harbor  them ; 
gathering  to  themselves  all  lesser  forces  which  are 
spread  more  evenly  over  saner  existences  ;  losing  their 
first  burning  intensity,  perhaps,  but  becoming  thereby 
only  the  more  sustained,  cool,  and  deadly ;  so  that  at 
the  last  they  lie  unnoticed  in  the  background  of  the 
man's  ordinary  life,  coloring,  influencing  every  act — a 
religion  to  which,  without  anger,  but  without  relent 
ing,  he  bends  every  long-planned  effort  of  even  his 
trivial  and  daily  deeds.  You  may  not  understand  this, 
unless  you  have  known  a  half-breed ;  but  it  is  true. 

Interrupted  in  the  midst  of  his  flow  of  anger,  and 
deprived  of  the  immediate  solace  of  shooting  things  at 
his  enemies,  Lafond  fell  into  a  sulking  fit.  During  the 
rest  of  the  day  he  brooded.  After  dark  that  night  he 
wound  his  way  silently  through  the  grasses,  crept  up 
behind  the  solitary  sentinel  considered  necessary  in 
this  peaceful  country,  stabbed  the  man  in  the  back,  and 
returned  to  camp.  Thus  his  way  was  clear.  Then  he 
took  from  the  wagons  three  slabs  of  bacon,  a  small 
sack  of  coffee,  a  large  supply  of  powder,  lead,  and  caps, 
a  blanket,  and  a  frying-pan  and  cup.  With  these  he 
mounted  the  hill,  past  the  dead  sentinel,  to  the  ponies. 
Two  of  the  latter  he  drew  apart  from  the  herd.  One  of 
them  he  saddled ;  the  other  he  packed  with  his  supplies. 
Then  the  half-breed  led  them  silently  westward  for  a 
good  half-mile.  Then  he  mounted  and  rode  away. 


VI 

THE  WOMAN  AND  THE  MAN 

THE  wagon-train  under  the  command  of  Billy 
Knapp,  and  Alfred,  and  Jim  Buckley  had  a  very 
hard  trip  before  they  were  done  with  it.  The 
only  difficulty  they  did  not  encounter  was  lack  of  water. 
There  was  too  much  of  that.  Several  times  the  party 
had  to  camp  in  one  spot  for  days  while  the  wagons 
were  laboriously  warped  across  rivers  of  mud  and 
quicksand,  with  steep,  slippery  clay  banks.  How  little 
Prue  stood  the  journey  so  well,  neither  her  father,  her 
mother,  nor  the  men  of  the  party  were  able  to  divine ; 
but  she  did,  and,  what  is  more,  she  seemed  to  think  it 
great  fun.  So  cheerful  was  she,  and  so  sunny,  that  the 
men  came  to  grudge  each  other  her  company.  And  as 
for  Mrs.  Prue  and  the  doctor,  who  could  help  loving 
the  patient  sweetness  of  the  one,  or  the  pathetic,  gen 
tle,  impracticable  kindness  of  the  other? 

Yes,  it  was  a  hard  journey ;  but  somehow  the  feel 
ing  was  not  entirely  of  joy  and  relief  when  the  stockade 
of  Frenchman's  Creek  shimmered  across  the  broad, 
flat  foot-hills.  There  they  separated.  The  dangers 
were  over. 

Then,  to  the  surprise  of  everyone,  the  doctor  waked 
up  and  knew  just  where  he  wanted  to  go.  He  dis 
played  an  unexpected  familiarity  with  the  general  to 
pography  of  the  hills.  It  puzzled  Billy.  And,  to  the 
vaster  astonishment  of  both  his  confreres,  Jim  sud- 

36 


THE  -WOMAN   AND   THE  MAN    37 

denly  announced,  with  quite  unwonted  volubility,  that 
he  had  been  intending  all  along  to  start  in  prospecting 
at  the  end  of  this  trip,  and  that  here  he  meant  to  quit 
scouting  and  leave  the  society  of  his  brothers  in  arms 
— unless,  of  course,  he  added,  as  a  doubtful  after 
thought,  they  wanted  to  join  him.  They  profanely  re 
plied  that  they  did  not. 

Most  of  the  men  pushed  on  immediately  to  Rocker- 
ville,  whither  a  majority  of  the  former  inhabitants  of 
Frenchman's  Creek  had  already  emigrated.  Alfred 
and  Billy  decided  to  get  over  in  the  Limestone  for  a 
"  big  hunt  "  before  returning  East.  Prue  said  good-by 
to  them  with  real  feeling,  and  most  of  them  threw  out 
their  chests  and  were  very  gruff  and  rude  because  they 
were  sorry  to  leave.  Prue  understood.  They  were 
kind-hearted  men,  after  all,  these  rough  pioneers. 
Billy  remembered  for  almost  two  years  how  she  looked 
when  she  said  that,  which  was  extraordinary  for  Billy. 
He  had  led  so  varied  a  life  as  pony-express  rider,  stage- 
driver,  scout,  Indian,  bronco-buster,  hunter,  and  trap 
per,  that  he  had  little  room  in  his  memory  for  anything 
short  of  bloodshed  or  a  triumph  for  himself. 

Finally,  after  all  the  rest  had  gone,  Jim  and  the 
doctor  made  the  mutually  delightful  discovery  that 
they  had  selected  the  same  locality,  the  one  for  his 
prospecting,  the  other  for  his  scientific  investigations. 
So  the  doctor  simply  left  his  outfit  in  Jim's  wagon,  and 
they  all  went  up  together. 

The  little  scientist  was  as  excited  as  a  child.  To 
him  the  country  was  as  a  document — a  document 
which  he  had  studied  thoroughly  in  the  pocket  edi 
tions.  He  now  had  it  before  him  in  the  original  manu 
script,  open  and  unabridged. 


38  THE   WESTERNERS 

And  indeed,  even  to  an  ordinary  observer,  the  Black 
Hills  are  a  strange  series  of  formations. 

They  run  north  and  south  at  the  westernmost  edge 
of  the  northern  prairie,  and  are,  altogether,  about  as 
large  as  the  State  of  Vermont.  Unlike  other  ranges, 
they  possess  no  one  ridge  that  serves  as  a  backbone  to 
the  system.  The  separate  peaks  rise  tumultuously,  like 
the  rip  of  seas  in  a  tideway,  without  connection,  soli 
tary,  sombre.  Between  them  lie  deep  gorges,  or  broad 
stretches  of  grass-park,  which  dip  away  and  away,  un 
til  one  catches  the  breath  at  the  grand  free  sweep  of 
them.  Huge  castellated  dikes  crop  up  from  the  ridge- 
tops  like  ramparts.  Others  rise  parallel  in  the  softest 
verdure,  guarding  between  their  perpendicular  sides 
streets  as  narrow  and  clean-cut  as  the  alleys  of  a  city 
of  skyscrapers. 

Through  it  all,  back  and  forth,  like  the  walls  of  a 
labyrinth,  run  the  broken,  twisted,  faintly  defined  geo 
logical  systems,  which  cross  each  other  so  frequently 
and  so  vigorously  that  all  semblance  of  order  is  lost 
in  the  tumultuous  upheaval.  Here  are  strata  deposited 
by  the  miocene  tertiary ;  here  are  breakings  forth  of 
metamorphic  rocks  of  many  periods ;  here  are  the 
complex  results  of  diverse  influences  and  forces. 
Down  in  the  south  is  a  great  cavern — of  which  ninety- 
seven  miles  and  twenty-five  hundred  rooms  have,  at 
this  writing,  been  explored — which  was  once  the  in 
terior  of  a  geyser.  For  ages  it  spouted  ;  for  ages  more 
its  fluids  crystallized  and  petrified  into  varied  and 
beautiful  forms ;  and  then,  finally,  many  layers  of 
stratified  rock  were  slowly  overlaid  to  seal  forever  this 
dried-out,  beautiful,  lifeless  mummy  of  a  cave.  It  lies 
there  now,  as  it  has  lain  through  the  centuries,  with  a 


THE   WOMAN   AND   THE   MAN     39 

single,  tiny  opening  by  which  it  can  be  entered — a 
palace  of  vast  re-echoing  halls,  hung  with  jewels,  a 
horror-haunted  honeycomb  of  unsounded  depths,  a 
solemn  abode  wherein  not  the  faintest  drip  of  water, 
not  the  gentlest  sigh  of  air  through  the  corridors, 
breaks  the  eternal  silence.  Only  its  mouth  roars  con 
tinually  as  the  winds  rush  in  or  out.  The  Indians 
assign  to  it  the  spirits  of  their  dead  warriors,  and  can 
not  be  induced  to  approach  it.  Geologists  rave  over  it, 
and  cannot  be  persuaded  to  come  away. 

But  this  is  in  the  latter  day  of  railroads  and  tender- 
feet.  At  the  time  of  which  this  story  treats,  little  was 
known  of  the  country.  It  was  simply  a  great  second 
hand  shop,  of  a  little  of  everything  in  the  geological 
line. 

When  the  party  arrived  at  Spanish  Gulch,  the  doctor 
was  so  eager  to  get  into  the  wonderful  hills  that  only 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  did  he  constrain  himself  to 
help  Jim  erect  a  log  cabin  for  the  accommodation  of 
his  family.  Even  then  he  was  not  of  much  use,  al 
though  he  could  at  least  help  to  lift  timbers.  Jim 
practically  did  it  alone,  and  it  took  him  almost  a 
month ;  but  when  it  was  done,  it  was  very  nice.  The 
doctor  accepted  the  free  gift  of  the  scout's  labor  and 
skill  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  just  as  he  had  taken 
the  free  gift  of  an  ordinarily  expensive  pilotage  across 
the  plains;  but  the  woman  appreciated,  and  perhaps 
she  understood,  for  she  suddenly  became  very  shy  in 
Jim's  presence.  And  then,  sometimes,  she  would  gaze 
at  him,  when  he  was  not  looking,  with  an  adoration  of 
gratitude  filling  her  eyes. 

After  the  doctor's  home  was  finished,  Jim  betook 
himself  into  another  gulch,  where  he  constructed  a 


40  THE   WESTERNERS 

less  elaborate  shelter  for  his  own  occupation.  Thence 
forward  he  spent  much  of  his  time  in  mysterious  pros 
pecting  operations ;  but  two  or  three  times  a  week  he 
liked  to  sit  perfectly  silent  under  the  tree  which  over 
shadowed  the  doctor's  cabin,  watching  Prue,  if  she 
happened  to  be  near,  playing  with  Miss  Prue,  or  try 
ing  to  talk  with  the  doctor.  He  never  went  inside  the 
house,  even  in  the  winter ;  and  he  never  seemed  to  try 
to  know  Prue  any  more  intimately.  It  would  have 
been  difficult  for  him  to  say  just  what  pleasure  he  dij- 
covered  in  these  visits. 

After  a  little,  the  routine  of  life  became  fixed.  The 
doctor  took  up  his  work  systematically.  Each  morn 
ing  he  plunged  into  the  hills.  His  little  bent  form 
moved  from  ridge  to  ridge,  following  his  own  especial 
leads  as  earnestly  as  the  most  eager  gold  prospector 
of  them  all.  Sometimes  he  got  lost,  but  generally  he 
managed  to  reach  home  at  sunset.  He  was  entirely 
preoccupied.  He  ate  his  meals  as  they  were  set  before 
him  without  question,  he  pulled  on  his  well-mended 
clothes  without  noticing  the  new  patches,  he  warmed 
himself  before  his  fire  without  a  thought  of  whence 
came  the  wood,  blazing  up  the  mud-chimney. 

Prue  at  first  wondered  a  little  at  this,  for  even  in 
his  intensest  absorption  the  doctor's  home-life  had 
been  much  to  him ;  but  in  time  she  came  to  appreciate 
his  mood,  and  to  rely  on  herself  even  more  than  usual. 
She  had  such  an  exalted  opinion  of  his  work  that  she 
easily  fell  into  the  habit  of  sacrificing  herself  to  it.  She 
watched  for  the  things  that  pleased  him,  or,  rather,  did 
not  bother  him,  for  his  pleasures  were  negative ;  she 
carefully  excluded  all  disturbing  influences,  and  came 
to  look  on  this  lonely  time  as  only  a  probation,  sooner 


THE   WOMAN   AND   THE  MAN    41 

or  later  to  be  over,  after  which,  in  the  fulness  of  his 
success,  he  would  turn  to  her  with  his  old  love.  To 
hasten  this  she  would  have  cut  off  her  right  hand. 

So4  much  to  the  disgust  of  Jim  Buckley,  the  brave 
little  woman  took  the  management  of  things  upon  her 
self.  During  the  long  days,  while  the  doctor  was  away, 
she  schemed  to  make  both  ends  meet.  She  raised  a  few 
vegetables  in  a  plot  of  open  ground  on  the  sunny  side 
of  the  creek,  working  in  it  daily  with  an  old  spade.  He- 
face  was  hidden  in  the  depths  of  a  sunbonnet,  and 
her  hands  were  covered  with  a  pair  of  deerskin  gaunt 
lets,  for  she  could  not  forget,  poor  woman !  that  she 
was  gently  bred,  and  she  hated  to  see  her  skin  redden 
ing  in  the  dry  air  of  the  hills. 

Items  of  necessity  she  bought  scantily,  sparingly,  of 
travelling  pedlars,  for  prices  were  high.  Candles  for 
the  winter,  corn-meal,  occasionally  flour,  coffee,  sugar 
— all  these  counted.  Things  cost  so  much  more  here 
than  she  had  anticipated.  Prue  saw  the  end  coming, 
distant  though  it  might  be.  She  sometimes  did  little 
bits  of  mending  for  passing  miners,  and  was  paid  for  it. 
Oftener  she  skimped  on  the  daily  meals,  pretending 
that  she  was  tired  and  did  not  care  to  eat.  The  doctor 
never  noticed,  nor  did  she  mean  that  he  should. 

In  the  presence  of  his  work,  he  could  think  of  noth 
ing  else.  Once,  when  they  ran  out  of  wood,  she  told 
him  of  it.  It  worried  him  for  a  week.  Material  neces 
sities  drew  his  mind  away  from  the  attitude  of  calm 
scientific  investigation.  The  pile  of  fuel  that  goes  with 
every  new  shack  lasted  the  first  winter  through.  After 
that  was  gone,  Prue  used  the  chips  made  when  the 
house  was  built,  as  long  as  they  held  out.  Then  she 
tried  to  chop  down  a  tree  herself.  Jim  Buckley  found 


42  THE   WESTERNERS 

her  sitting  on  a  stone,  the  axe  between  her  knees,  her 
face  buried  in  her  hands.  Beside  her  was  a  pine  scarred 
at  random  with  weak,  ill-directed  blows.  He  made  a 
few  profane  remarks  into  his  thick  beard  concerning 
the  doctor,  then  took  the  axe  from  her,  and  started  to 
work.  In  a  week  enough  firewood  was  piled  over 
against  the  house  to  last  the  winter.  During  that  week 
he  ate  his  noon  meals  in  the  little  cabin.  The  woman 
did  her  best,  and  used  up  a  fortnight's  provisions  in 
the  attempt  to  make  a  respectable  showing  before  the 
hungry  man.  But  in  spite  of  that  he  saw  through  her 
pitiful  efforts,  and  offered  to  let  her  have  money.  She 
drew  herself  up  and  showed  him  the  door.  When  he 
liad  gone,  bewildered,  she  went  out  and  looked  at  the 
white  shining  wood-pile  and  wept  bitterly. 

But  in  spite  of  economy  the  closest,  and  the  sacri 
fice  of  absolutely  every  non-essential,  the  time  came 
when  the  last  cent  had  gone.  The  woman  stood  face 
to  face  with  want.  And,  as  ill-luck  would  have  it,  at 
this  period  the  doctor  was  especially  brimming  with 
enthusiasm,  for  he  had  almost  achieved  the  one  result 
he  needed  to  fill  out  his  scheme.  He  worked  feverishly 
to  forestall  the  snow.  He  was  full  of  his  system,  al 
ternating  between  glowing  enthusiasm  and  a  haunting 
fear  that  the  winter  would  set  in  too  early.  He  must 
have  uninterrupted  time  for  work  until  then,  he  said. 
On  this  depended  his  professional  reputation,  their 
fortune. 

She  set  her  lips  firmly  and  looked  about  her.  The 
flour  and  meal  were  gone ;  there  were  no  candles,  and 
without  candles  how  could  the  doctor  put  the  last 
touches  to  his  book  when  winter  fell  ?  Little  light  fil 
tered  through  the  oiled  paper  of  the  windows.  She 


THE   WOMAN   Ai\D   THE   MAN    43 

sold  her  ring  to  some  passing  gamblers.  The  money 
soon  slipped  away.  For  a  few  days  she  fought  hard 
with  her  pride.  Then  she  put  on  her  sunbonnet,  and, 
kissing  the  child  tenderly,  went,  with  heightened  color, 
down  the  gulch  to  Jim  Buckley's. 

She  found  him  sitting  on  a  stump  in  front  of  his  dirt- 
roofed  shack,  pounding  into  sand  some  quartz  in  an 
iron  mortar.  He  did  not  hear  her  until  she  stood  be 
side  him.  Then  he  arose,  drawing  his  gaunt  form  up 
quickly,  taking  off  his  broad  hat,  and  wiping  his  grimy 
hands  on  his  jeans. 

"  Mr.  Buckley,"  she  said  hurriedly,  before  he  could 
speak,  "  I  have  come  to  tell  you  how  sorry  I  am  that  I 
was  so  rude  to  you.  You  have  been  very  kind  to  me, 
and  I  had  no  right  to  speak  to  you  as  I  did.  No,  no !  " 
she  implored,  as  Jim  opened  his  mouth  to  expostulate. 
"  I  must  tell  you  that,  and  please  don't  interrupt  me. 

"  My  husband  is  doing  some  very  valuable  work," 
Prue  continued,  "  very  valuable,  and  when  he  gets  it 
done  he  will  be  very  famous  and  very  rich.  But  just 
now  it  takes  all  his  time  and  attention,  so  that  he  doesn't 
realize — how — poor — we — are."  The  little  woman's 
cheeks  burned,  and  she  lowered  her  head  until  the  sun- 
bonnet  hid  her  face.  "  Of  course,  if  I  should  tell  him," 
she  went  on  proudly,  "  he  would  attend  to  it  at  once. 
But  I  mustn't  do  that.  He  needs  such  a  little  time  to 
finish  his  work,  and  I  mustn't — must  I  ?  "  And  she 
suddenly  looked  up  into  Jim's  honest  eyes  with  an  im 
ploring  gesture. 

Jim  was  standing,  his  broad  hat  against  his  knee, 
looking  at  her  fixedly.  No  doubt  he  was  thinking  how, 
when  he  had  first  seen  her,  her  cheeks  were  as  full  and 
ripe  as  the  apples  of  his  old  home  in  New  England  • 


44  THE   WESTERNERS 

and  was  wondering  if  the  dip  of  strata  were  worth  this. 
Seeing  that  he  intended  no  reply,  she  looked  down 
again  and  went  on. 

"  I  came  here  to  see  you  about  that.  Once,  Mr. 
Buckley,  you  offered  to  lend  me  some  money,  and  I 
— I — am  afraid  I  was  very  rude.  And  now — oh, 
dear ! "  And  suddenly  the  poor  little  figure  in  faded 
and  patched  calico  sank  to  the  ground,  and  began  to 
sob  as  if  her  heart  would  break. 

Jim  was  distressed.  He  started  forward,  hesitated, 
looked  up  at  the  sky  and  down  the  gulch.  Then  he 
threw  down  his  hat  and  darted  into  the  cabin,  returning 
in  a  moment  with  a  buckskin  bag,  which  he  tossed  im 
pulsively  into  her  lap. 

"  There,  there  !  "  he  said  distractedly.  "  Why  didn't 
you  say  so  before  ?  Stop  !  Please  stop  !  Oh,  the " 

She  looked  up  suddenly  with  a  blinding  smile. 

"  Now,  don't  say  anything  naughty !  "  she  cried  air 
ily  through  her  tears.  She  laughed  queerly  at  Jim's 
open  mouth  and  astonished  eyes.  He  could  not  grasp 
the  meaning  of  her  change  of  mood.  Before  he  could 
recover,  she  was  on  her  feet,  a  roguish  vision  of  blush 
ing  cheeks  and  dancing  eyes.  She  shook  the  buckskin 
bag  in  his  face. 

"  Aren't  you  afraid  you'll  never  be  paid,  sir  ?  "  she 
demanded ;  then,  with  a  quick  sob,  "  I  think  you  are 
the  kindest  man  in  all  the  world !  "  The  next  instant 
the  alders  closed  about  her  fluttering  figure  on  the  trail. 
For  a  week  after,  her  cheeks  burned,  and  she  was  afraid 
to  look  out  of  the  cabin  lest  Jim  should  be  coming  up 
the  path. 

As  the  winter  wore  away,  however,  she  began  to  see 
the  bottom  of  the  little  buckskin  bag.  The  doctor  was 


THE   WOMAN   AND   THE  MAN    45 

as  absorbed  as  ever.  She  could  not  bring  her  pride  to 
the  point  of  asking  Buckley  for  another  loan,  and  so 
again  the  terror  of  poverty  seized  upon  her.  Her  eyes 
looked  harassed  and  worn,  and  her  mouth  had  queer 
little  lines  in  the  corners.  She  would  stand  watching 
the  flames  in  the  chimney  for  hours,  and  then  would 
turn  suddenly,  hungrily,  and  snatch  up  the  little  girl, 
devouring  her  with  kisses.  Sometimes  she  would  wrin 
kle  her  brow,  peeping  into  the  doctor's  manuscripts, 
trying  to  make  out  how  near  the  end  he  was,  but  she 
always  laid  them  down  with  a  puzzled  sigh.  She  did 
not  eat  enough,  and  she  grew  thin.  She  tried  expe 
dients  of  which  she  had  read.  For  instance,  one  day 
she  went  down  into  the  creek  bottom  and  cut  some 
willows.  She  peeled  the  bark  from  them,  and  from 
the  inside  rind  she  collected  a  quantity  of  fine  white 
dust,  with  which  she  made  a  pasty  kind  of  dough.  The 
biscuits  were  tough  and  of  a  queer  flavor.  Even  the 
doctor,  after  tasting  one  of  them,  looked  up  in  surprise. 

"  What  do  you  call  this,  my  dear  ?  "  he  inquired. 

She  clapped  her  hands  gayly,  and  laughed  with  a 
catch  in  her  voice. 

"  Oh,  a  queer  Indian  dish  I've  learned,  that's  all. 
You  never  do  pay  any  attention  to  what  you  eat,  so  I 
thought  I'd  make  you  for  once." 

"  Oh,"  said  the  doctor,  smiling  faintly. 

The  willow  flour  appeared  no  more. 

So  the  long  winter  drew  to  its  close,  and  still  the 
brave  little  woman  set  her  face  resolutely  forward, 
striving  to  help  the  doctor  with  his  life-work  as  only 
a  woman  can.  She  could  see  no  way  out.  The  case 
was  hopeless,  and  often  she  shed  impotent  tears  over 
her  inability.  He  worked  so  hard,  and  she  did  so  little ! 

And  then  the  spring  brought  with  it  the  solution. 


VII 

THE  REINS  OF  POWER 

FOR  two  weeks  after,  Micha'il  Lafond,  cut  loose 
from  the  crippled  wagon-train  returning  to 
Three  Rivers,  travelled  westward  by  the  sun, 
sleeping  under  the  stars,  living  on  bacon,  coffee,  and 
an  occasional  bit  of  small  game,  drinking  muddy  water 
from  buffalo  wallows  which  providential  rains  had 
filled.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was  raided  by  the 
Sioux.  When  they  approached  him,  he  led  forward 
his  two  ponies,  placed  his  rifle  on  the  ground  in  front 
of  their  noses,  unslung  his  powder-horn  and  laid  it  be 
side  the  weapon,  and  stepped  back,  throwing  his  arms 
wide  apart.  The  Indians  rode  forward  silently,  a 
strange,  naked  band,  whose  fancy  ran  to  chrome  yel 
low,  and  took  possession  of  Lafond  and  his  equipment. 

The  half-breed  became  a  squaw  man,  and  lived  with 
these  Indians  for  some  time.  At  first  he  was  given 
drudgery  to  do.  He  did  it,  but  kept  his  eyes  open,  and 
learned  the  language.  After  a  little  his  chance  came. 

The  band  captured  a  wagon-train,  and  massacred 
its  men  and  women  It  found  itself  in  possession  of 
fifty  or  sixty  horses,  half  a  score  of  wagons,  some  pro 
visions,  and  a  goodly  quantity  of  blankets,  axes,  uten 
sils,  and  the  rude  necessities  of  life  on  the  frontier.  An 
Indian  cannot  possess  too  many  ponies,  he  is  always 
ready  to  eat,  and  blankets  come  handy  in  winter ;  but 
he  has  absolutely  no  use  for  the  rest  of  the  plunder. 

46 


THE   REINS   OF   POWER  47 

So  he  usually  puts  a  torch  to  the  lot,  and  has  a  bon 
fire  by  way  of  celebration. 

On  this  occasion,  Michail  Lafond  succeeded  in  get 
ting  Lone  Wolf  to  postpone  the  bonfire,  to  lend  him 
twenty  ponies,  and  to  detail  to  his  service  half  as  many 
squaws.  The  feat  in  itself  was  a  mark  of  genius,  as 
anyone  who  knows  the  Indian  character  will  admit,  and 
cost  Michail  many  of  his  newly  learned  words,  put 
together  with  all  of  his  native  eloquence. 

The  twenty  ponies,  driven  by  the  ten  squaws,  drew 
the  schooners  and  their  contents  to  the  Bad  Lands, 
where  Michail  concealed  then  in  a  precipitous  gully 
of  the  deeply  eroded  sort  so  common  in  that  strange, 
rainless  district.  Then  he  returned  fifteen  of  the  ponies 
to  Lone  Wolf.  Lone  Wolf's  band  took  up  quarters 
within  striking  distance  of  the  cached  schooners. 

All  this  was  done  by  Michail  Lafond,  and  when  it 
was  completed  he  drew  a  long  breath.  He  felt  that  the 
foundations  of  his  influence  were  laid.  It  was  no  light 
thing  thus  to  have  drawn  self-willed  savages  from  their 
accustomed  ways  of  life.  He  had  done  it  only  by  vague 
promises  of  great  benefits  to  accrue  in  the  immediate 
future,  said  benefits  to  be  "  big  medicine  "  in  the  ex 
treme.  Lone  Wolf  had  pondered  much ;  had  seen  an 
opportune  shooting  star ;  had  consented. 

A  month  later,  a  half-breed  returned  alone  across 
the  plains  from  the  hill  country.  At  Pierre  he  an 
nounced  open  trail.  He  had  himself  come  through 
without  the  least  trouble,  he  claimed,  although  he  had  • 
seen  many  Indians.  This  was  strictly  true.  He  went 
on  to  say  that  he  would  sell  his  outfit  cheap,  as  he  was 
anxious  to  go  on  east.  The  gold  prospects  were  good. 
He  had  a  partner  squatting  on  several  claims,  to  whom 


48  THE   WESTERNERS 

he  would  return  the  following  year.  He  hinted  mys 
teriously  of  capital  to  be  invested  and  exhibited  a  small 
nugget  of  placer  gold.  Most  of  this  was  untrue,  and 
the  nugget  he  had  found,  not  in  the  placer  beds,  but  in 
a  small  pasteboard  box  in  one  of  the  schooners. 

The  outfit  brought  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
for  the  half-breed  sold  cheap.  With  this  money  and 
the  horses  he  departed  the  day  following. 

Michail  was  now  richer  by  three  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  and  five  horses  than  he  had  been  before  his  cap 
ture  by  the  Indians.  Were  it  not  for  two  considera 
tions,  he  might  have  decamped  with  the  proceeds. 
Conscience  was  not  one  of  them.  In  the  first  place,  his 
Caucasian  instincts  taught  him  to  look  ahead  to  larger 
things.  In  the  second  place,  his  Indian  blood  would 
not  let  him  lose  sight  of  certain  bits  of  savagery  he  had 
in  contemplation.  So,  instead  of  decamping,  he  pur 
chased  writh  the  money,  in  a  town  where  he  was  un 
known,  five  of  the  new  breech-loading  rifles  and  nearly 
five  thousand  rounds  of  ammunition.  His  tale  here 
was  simple.  The  trail  was  not  open,  and  a  wagon-train 
was  soon  to  attempt  the  task  of  opening  it.  He  loaded 
the  munitions  on  his  five  broncos,  and  joined  Lone 
Wolf,  who  was  outlying  near  at  hand. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  six  months  a  certain  half- 
breed,  with  various  stores  and  outfits,  was  observed 
in  several  small  towns  on  the  border  of  the  frontier. 
In  half  of  them  he  was  headed  east  and  sold  his  outfit ; 
in  the  other  half  he  was  headed  west  and  bought  rifles. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  there  remained  no  more 
schooners  in  the  cache  of  the  Bad  Lands,  but  Lone 
Wolfs  band  was  the  best  armed  in  all  the  West. 
Michail  Lafond  had  let  slip  the  chance  of  embezzling 


THE   REINS   OF   POWER  49 

some  thousands  of  dollars,  but  he  had  gained  what  was 
much  more  valuable  to  him — power  over  an  efficient 
band  of  fighting  men,  and  the  implicit  confidence  of  a 
tribt  of  Sioux  Indians.  He  was  respected  and  feared. 
His  unseen  influence  was  felt  throughout  the  whole 
plains  country. 

Lafond  was  too  shrewd  either  to  repeat  his  venture 
or  to  become  identified  with  the  tribe.  His  influence, 
as  has  been  said,  was  unseen  and  unsuspected.  Lone 
Wolf's  band  was  successful  from  the  Indian  stand 
point,  pernicious  from  the  white  man's.  That  was  all 
that  appeared  on  the  outside.  Lafond  himself  became 
a  savage.  He  slept  out  with  little  cover,  and  often  rode 
with  none  at  all.  He  ate  dog  and  rattlesnake,  when 
dog  and  rattlesnake  happened  to  be  on  the  bill  of  fare. 
He  carried  a  knife  deep  in  the  recess  of  a  long,  loose 
buckskin  sheath ;  and  from  the  ridge  of  his  tepee  hung 
five  clotted  horrors,  torn  from  the  heads  of  the  victims 
of  his  personal  prowess.  The  number  of  these  might 
easily  have  been  augmented,  but  Micha'il  struck  seldom 
in  his  own  person.  When  he  did,  not  one  of  the  victims 
escaped,  for  no  man  must  have  seen  Micha'il,  the  sav 
age.  Michail,  the  civilized,  would  need  a  clear  field 
before  him  when  once  again  he  appeared  in  the  towns. 

The  life  was  fascinating  to  such  as  he.  He  loved 
it,  but  he  did  not  forget  his  purposes.  When  at  last 
he  had  gathered  firmly  the  reins  of  his  power,  he  shook 
them,  and  the  twin  steeds  of  Murder  and  Rapine  swept 
destroyingly  through  the  land. 

For  the  present  there  was  peace  on  the  plains. 
Wagon-trains  came  across  the  Pierre  trail,  or  further 
down  along  South  Fork.  Custer  explored.  White 
men  settled  in  the  Black  Hills,  in  spite  of  the  treaty. 


50  THE    WESTERNERS 

The  Indians  hunted  buffalo,  and  their  wives  made 
robes,  and  cut  tepee  poles  from  the  valley  of  Iron 
Creek. 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  seeming  tranquillity,  the  seeds 
of  discord  had  been  sown  broadcast,  and  Lafond,  with 
his  devilish  cleverness  of  insight,  could  see  that  the 
struggle  was  not  long  to  wait.  Both  sides  felt  ag 
grieved,  and  both  sides  had  more  than  a  show  of 
reason  for  feeling  so.  Perhaps,  in  the  long  run,  this 
was  an  inevitable  result  of  the  advance  of  civilization ; 
but  it  is  a  little  unfortunate  that  the  provisional  races 
must  be  set  aside  so  summarily.  That  fact  serves  oc 
casionally  to  cast  a  doubt  in  reflective  minds  on  the 
ultimate  benefit  of  the  civilization. 

We  who  look  upon  our  tamed  country,  or  those 
plainsmen  who  have  perforce  to  struggle  in  the  thick 
of  the  avenging  troubles  which  follow  injustice  as 
surely  as  symptoms  follow  the  disease,  may  not  be  able 
to  see  the  Indian's  side  of  the  question.  We,  the  peace 
ful  citizens,  enjoy  the  security  of  policed  cities  and 
fenced  prairies ;  and  we  are  convinced  that  it  is  worth 
the  price.  They,  the  pioneers,  fight,  and  are  maimed ; 
they  lose  their  worldly  possessions,  and  their  heart 
strings  are  twanged  to  the  tuning  of  grief ;  and  so  they 
become  partisans,  to  whom  the  old  scriptural  saying 
that  "  he  who  is  not  for  me  is  against  me  "  comes  home 
with  a  sternness  brewed  of  tears. 

But  to  those  others  who  looked  on  from  the  height, 
to  the  men  who  sat  safe,  but  moved  the  pawns  on  the 
board — to  them  there  was  a  real  justice,  and  they  in 
fringed  it ;  a  real  duty,  and  they  failed  it.  They  held 
the  whip  hand  and  spared  not  the  lash,  and  it  shall  be 
visited  unto  them. 


THE   REINS   OF   POWER  51 

Nearly  fifty  years  ago,  a  Lieutenant  Warren,  at  the* 
head  of  a  small  exploring  party,  approached  the  Black 
Hills.  He  was  met  near  the  South  Fork  by  a  friendly 
but  firm  deputation  of  Sioux  chiefs.  Pah-sap-pah  was 
sacred.  Pah-sap-pah  must  not  be  entered.  All  the 
rest  of  the  country  was  open,  by  the  courtesy  of  the 
red  men,  to  their  white  brothers,  but  sacred  land  must 
not  be  profaned.  Warren  acquiesced,  and  contented 
himself  with  ascertaining  the  general  extent  and  con 
figuration  of  the  forbidden  district.  \Vhen,  in  the  ful 
ness  of  time,  the  government  entered  into  treaty  with 
these  Indians,  Warren's  policy  was  continued,  and  the 
Black  Hills  were,  by  a  special  clause,  exempted  from 
white  invasion  forever.  According  to  the  Indians,  the 
place  was  the  abode  of  spirits,  and  each  tree,  each  rock, 
each  dell,  had  its  own  especial  manitou  whom  it  were 
sacrilege  to  offend  by  the  touch  of  profane  hands. 

For  many  years  the  treaty  was  respected.  Then  a 
Pawnee  brought  into  one  of  the  reservations  a  small 
quantity  of  gold  dust,  which  he  confessed  to  have 
found  in  the  Hills. 

The  following  spring,  Custer,  at  the  head  of  an  ex 
pedition  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  men,  entered 
into  a  long  scout  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  explor 
ing  the  Black  Hills  for  indications  of  gold.  In  this  he 
acted  directly  under  his  governmental  orders.  Thus 
was  the  treaty  first  broken. 

Next  year  the  Hills  were  overrun  with  miners,  il- 
kgal  miners,  just  as  the  troops  had  been  with  illegal 
explorers.  They  scattered  through  the  wilderness  in 
vast  numbers,  and  about  a  hundred  of  them  staked 
out,  near  the  centre  of  the  Southern  Hills,  a  town 
which  they  named  Custer  City.  The  irony  was  uncon- 


$2  THE   WESTERNERS 

scious.  What  followed  was  farcical,  and  was  relished 
as  such  by  the  participants.  Bodies  of  troops  were 
sent  to  enforce  the  treaty.  Legally  they  did  so.  Al 
though  inferior  in  numbers  to  the  miners,  and  no  bet 
ter  armed,  they  succeeded  several  times  in  sweeping 
all  the  trespassers  together  into  one  band.  The  latter 
submitted  good-naturedly.  The  culprits  were  then 
turned  over  to  civil  authority.  Civil  authority  waited 
only  for  the  disappearance  of  the  troops  to  set  the 
miners  at  liberty;  whereupon  they  scurried,  as  fast 
as  their  animals  could  carry  them,  back  to  the  prospect- 
holes  of  their  choice.  It  was  all  a  huge  joke,  and 
everybody  knew  it. 

In  the  meantime  the  Indians  were  becoming  restive. 
It  may  not  be  known  to  the  general  reader,  but  it  is 
a  fact,  that  one  of  the  strongest  virtues  of  the  red  man's 
character  is  his  fidelity  to  his  given  word.  A  liar  is, 
in  his  moral  code,  the  most  despised  of  men.  He  can 
not  conceive  the  possibility  of  broken  faith,  and  there 
are  recorded  instances  wherein  an  Indian  condemned 
to  capital  punishment  has  been  set  free  on  his  oral 
promise  to  return  for  his  hanging;  and  he  has  re 
turned.  Therefore  the  Sioux  could  not  understand 
the  infraction  of  the  treaty. 

They  had  viewed  with  alarm  the  scouting  expedi 
tion  by  Custer.  On  the  invasion  by  the  horde  of 
miners,  the  following  spring,  an  outbreak  was  only 
avoided  by  the  prompt  action  of  the  troops  in  evicting 
the  trespassers ;  but  now,  this  winter  of  1875, tne  more 
sagacious  of  the  Indian  leaders  were  beginning  to  sus 
pect  the  truth,  namely,  that  the  eviction  had  been  noth 
ing  but  a  form,  and  that  Pah-sap-pah,  in  spite  of  the 
treaty,  was  lost  to  them  forever.  Affairs  were  ripe  for 


THE   REINS  OF   POWER  53 

a  great  Indian  war ;  and,  realizing  this,  the  department 
set  on  foot  Crook's  and  Reynolds'  unfortunate  ex 
pedition  toward  the  Big  Horn. 

The  savages  at  once  began  to  gather  under  a  famous 
chief,  Sitting  Bull.  The  storm  rumbled,  and  Custer 
was  despatched  to  effect  a  junction  with  his  brother 
officers  somewhere  north  of  the  Hills. 


VIII 

THE  MAKING  OF  A  HOSTILE 

MEANWHILE  a  personal  animus  had  sprung 
up   against   that   general   because   of  a   mild 
stroke  of  justice  on  his  part  against  a  singu 
larly  proud  man. 

It  seems  that  the  personnel  of  Custer's  former  ex 
pedition  to  the  Yellowstone  included  two  civilians,  a 
Dr.  Honzinger  and  a  Mr.  Baliran.  These  men  were 
not,  of  course,  subject  to  the  full  rigor  of  military  dis 
cipline,  and  so  were  accustomed  to  depart  from,  and 
return  to,  the  main  line  of  march  at  will.  When  they 
did  not  reappear  in  due  time  from  one  of  these  little 
trips,  search  was  made ;  and  they  were  found  killed 
with  arrows.  Dr.  Honzinger's  skull  was  crushed  in, 
but  neither  man  was  scalped,  for  the  doctor  was  bald 
and  the  other  wore  his  hair  clipped  short.  Some  time 
later,  knowledge  of  the  murderer's  identity  came  to 
light,  through  information  stumbled  upon  by  one  of 
Custer's  own  scouts. 

At  that  period,  rations  and  ammunition  were  dis 
tributed  regularly  at  the  various  agencies.  In  return 
the  savages  promised  to  be  good  Indians  and  to  sub 
mit  to  the  white  men's  laws.  This  promise  they  kept 
faithfully  enough,  but  according  to  their  own  stand 
ards.  At  the  times  of  distribution,  when  inevitably 
a  great  many  of  the  Indians  were  gathered  together, 
the  occasion  was  signalized  by  feasting  and  ghost 
dances.  The  latter  are  uncouth  exhibitions  enough, 

54 


THE  MAKING   OF   A   HOSTILE    55 

consisting  decoratively  of  much  cheap  body-paint, 
many  eagle  feathers,  and  trashy  jewelry;  musically 
of  most  unmusical  pounding  and  screaming;  and 
physically  of  a  crouching  posture  and  a  solemnly 
bounding  progression  from  one  foot  to  the  other 
around  a  circle.  They  are  accompanied  by  a  recital  of 
valorous  deeds. 

Such  a  dance  was  organized  at  the  Standing  Rock 
Agency,  below  Fort  Lincoln,  in  the  winter  of  1875. 
As  usual,  besides  the  gathering  of  old  warriors  and 
squaws,  assembled  to  watch  the  dance,  the  audience  in 
cluded  a  number  of  white  men,  present  on  business  or 
pleasure.  Among  them  was  Charley  Reynolds,  one 
of  Custer's  scouts.  This  man  stood  exchanging  idle 
comment  and  chaff  with  another  scout,  and  throwing 
an  occasional  glance  in  the  direction  of  the  vortex  of 
dancers,  swirling  about  in  gaudy  confusion,  like  a 
whirlwind  of  autumn  leaves.  Suddenly  he  closed  his 
mouth  with  a  snap  and  leaned  forward  at  keen  atten 
tion.  He  had  caught  a  few  words  that  interested  him. 

The  dancers  had  reached  the  point  of  frenzy.  They 
leaped  forward  with  solemnity  still,  but  it  was  a  quiver 
ing  solemnity  held  in  leash.  Their  bodies  were  tense, 
and  the  trailing  knives  and  hatchets  trembled  with 
nervous  force.  Each  warrior,  nostrils  distended  and 
eyes  flashing,  was  declaiming  his  deeds  with  an  ecstasy 
that  bordered  on  madness,  rolling  out  tale  after  tale  of 
murder,  theft  of  horses — the  only  sort  of  theft  counte 
nanced  by  the  Indian  code — and  fortitude  under  suffer 
ing.  Noticeable  among  these  dancers  was  a  young 
warrior  painted  in  the  manner  of  the  Uncpapa  Sioux. 
He  was  of  magnificent  physique  and  striking  counte 
nance,  but  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  his  appear- 


56  THE   WESTERNERS 

ance  was  a  huge,  ragged  scar  across  the  muscles  of  his 
back.  When  the  scout  looked  toward  him,  he  was 
shaking  in  the  air  the  chain  of  a  watch,  and  declaiming 
at  the  top  of  his  voice  in  the  Sioux  language. 

"  And  he  was  great  in  body,"  he  chanted,  "  and  he 
fell,  and  I  killed  him  with,  a  stone,  and  the  other  fled, 
and  I  shot  him,  and  so  they  died !  I  killed  them !  I 
am  a  great  warrior,  for  I  killed  two  white  men,  and 
these  things  are  tokens  that  I  speak  the  truth !  " 

He  rattled  the  chain,  and  went  through  a  vivid  pan 
tomime  of  the  slaying  of  the  two  white  men.  Charley 
Reynolds  recognized  the  trinket  as  belonging  to  Dr. 
Honzinger. 

The  young  warrior  was  called  Rain-in-the-Face,  and 
he  was  at  that  time  esteemed  as  the  bravest  of  the  north 
ern  Sioux.  Others,  such  as  Crazy  Horse  or  Sitting 
Bull,  might  have  been  greater  in  generalship,  but 
neither  had  the  Uncpapa  youth's  reputation  for  sheer 
personal  bravery.  In  the  sun  dance  he  had  hung  for 
four  hours.  The  incisions  behind  the  great  muscles 
of  the  back,  through  which  the  rope  was  threaded,  had 
been  cut  too  deep,  and  the  flesh  failed  to  give  way 
when  Rain-in-the-Face  was  suspended.  For  some 
time  he  hung  in  midair,  his  whole  weight  depending 
from  the  loops  of  torn  muscles,  the  blood  streaming 
over  his  limbs,  and  the  hot  sun  beating  down  upon 
him.  Then  the  chiefs  attempted  to  cut  him  down,  but 
Rain-in-the-Face  refused  to  permit  it.  Four  hours 
later  the  flesh  rent  away  from  his  bones,  and  he  fell. 
That  day  made  him  the  idol  of  the  Sioux  nation. 

Charley  Reynolds  lost  no  time  in  informing  Custer 
of  his  discovery,  for  the  policy  of  the  period  was  to 
punish  as  many  culprits  as  possible,  in  order  that  the 


THE  MAKING  OF  A   HOSTILE    57 

vhites  might  establish,  as  soon  ars  might  be,  a  moral 
as  well  as  military  supremacy  over  the  turbulent  sav 
ages.  The  commander  resolved  to  arrest  Rain-in-the- 
Face.  To  that  end  he  detailed  a  hundred  men  under 
Captain  Yates. 

Contrary  to  what  one  unused  to  the  Indian  character 
might  expect,  no  difficulty  was  anticipated  in  rinding 
the  culprit.  To  be  sure,  the  plains  were  broad  and  the 
hiding  places  many,  but  Rain-in-the-Face  was  at  once 
an  agency  Indian  and  a  reckless  man.  He  drew  his  ra 
tions  and  he  drew  them  boldly.  With  his  blanket 
wrapped  about  him  and  his  rifle  peeping  from  its  folds 
across  his  left  arm,  he  stalked  here  and  there  among 
the  agency's  few  buildings.  Any  distribution  day  at 
the  reservation  would  discover  him  there. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  captain  was  not  at  all 
sure  of  being  able  to  arrest  him  when  found.  A  hun 
dred  men  would  stand  but  small  chance  in  a  fight  with 
six  hundred  well-armed  savages ;  whereas  the  appear 
ance  of  a  larger  expedition  would  serve  merely  to 
frighten  every  agency  Indian  out  into  the  wilds.  The 
situation  was  not  encouraging.  How  not  to  alarm  the 
quarry,  and  how  still  to  possess  strength  enough  to 
soize  it,  was  the  problem  that  confronted  Captain 
Yates. 

His  first  move  may  seem,  when  cursorily  examined, 
most  unwise.  He  detailed  a  lieutenant  and  forty  of 
his  little  command,  whose  orders  were  to  proceed 
farther  down  the  river,  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of 
making  inquiries  concerning  three  Osage  Indians 
wanted  for  murder.  Thus  his  available  force  was  re 
duced  to  sixty,  and  with  that  handful  he  intended  to 
capture  and  take  away,  in  the  face  of  ten  times  the 


58  THE   WESTERNERS 

number,  one  of  the  most  popular  fighting  men  of  the 
Sioux  nation. 

But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  so  dividing  his  forces 
the  captain  was  correct  in  his  tactics.  He  realized 
that  surprise  was  his  only  effective  weapon,  and  his 
ruse  made  surprise  certain  by  lulling  any  suspicion 
as  to  the  object  of  the  expedition. 

Arrived  at  the  agency,  a  cursory  examination  dis 
closed  the  fact  that  Rain-in-the-Face  was  not  among 
the  groups  of  Indians  camped  on  the  prairie.  He  must, 
therefore,  be  inside  the  agency  building  itself.  Cap 
tain  Yates  distributed  his  men  near  the  little  structure, 
and  Colonel  Tom  Custer  went  inside  with  half  a  dozen 
soldiers. 

The  room  was  found  to  be  full  of  blanketed  Sioux 
warriors,  muffled  to  the  eyes,  indistinguishable  in  the 
half  light,  except  as  eagle-feathered  silhouettes.  Greet 
ings  were  exchanged,  pipes  filled,  and  a  grave  silence 
fell  on  the  little  group.  The  minutes  passed,  but  no 
one  moved.  The  atmosphere  was  dense  with  smoke, 
and  still  the  parties  watched  each  other — the  whites 
with  veiled  eagerness,  the  Indians  with  unsuspicious 
stolidity.  Finally  the  agent  piled  dry  wood  on  the 
fire,  and  the  blaze  leaped  up  the  chimney.  The  heat 
became  oppressive,  so  after  a  moment  the  warrior 
nearest  the  fireplace  threw  back  the  blanket  from  his 
shoulders.  It  was  Rain-in-the-Face  himself. 

On  this  rather  dramatic  disclosure,  one  of  the  troop 
ers  uttered  an  exclamation.  The  Indian,  always  sus 
picious,  at  once  leaped  back  and  cocked  his  rifle ;  but 
before  he  could  raise  the  piece  or  pull  the  trigger,  Colo 
nel  Custer  wound  his  arms  around  him  from  behind, 
The  other  Indians  rushed  from  the  room. 


THE   MAKING   OF   A   HOSTILE     59 

The  captive's  hands  were  tied  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
but  by  the  time  he  was  brought  to  the  door,  the  Indians 
were  running  angrily  from  all  directions  toward  the 
building. 

Captain  Yates  had  succeeded  in  intimidating  the 
first  comers  by  a  show  of  force,  but  he  was  soon  out 
numbered  and  a  struggle  seemed  imminent. 

However,  an  old  chieftain  began  to  declaim  in  the 
violent,  high-pitched  monotone  so  much  affected  by 
Indian  orators.  This  delay  afforded  the  soldier  a 
much  needed  respite,  but  it  tended  also  to  concerted 
action  later.  The  white  man  seized  his  opportunity. 
Through  the  interpreter  he  called  upon  the  chiefs  to 
stand  forward  for  a  parley. 

"My  brothers  will  hear  me,"  said  the  interpreter 
for  him,  "  because  it  is  right,  for  they  wear  the  Great 
Father's  blankets  and  his  food  is  in  their  bellies.  This 
young  warrior  is  brave  and  his  enemies  are  as  the 
feeble  wind  to  him.  But  his  eye  became  blinded.  He 
thought  he  saw  before  him  the  Pawnees,  the  enemies  of 
his  people;  but  they  were  old  men  of  my  race.  He 
killed  those  old  men,  and  now  the  Great  Father  would 
know  why.  He  must  tell  the  Great  Father  of  his 
blindness.  Therefore  it  is  well  that  he  should  go. 

"  So  restrain  your  young  men  and  I  will  restrain 
mine.  It  might  be  that  your  young  men  would  kill 
many  of  mine ;  and  it  might  be  that  my  young  men 
would  kill  many  of  yours.  But  why  kill  them  ?  It  is 
useless,  for  first  of  all,  by  my  hand,  this  young  war 
rior  would  die." 

At  the  advance  of  the  chiefs,  the  Sioux  warriors  had 
suddenly,  from  the  wildest  confusion,  calmed  to  the 
deepest  attention.  They  stood  motionless  against  the 


60  THE   WESTERNERS 

white  background  of  the  snow,  only  their  fierce  eyes 
rolling  from  the  speaker  to  their  own  chiefs  and  back 
again.  One  of  the  latter  replied — 

"  It  is  not  well  to  talk  so,"  he  said  brusquely.  "  The 
words  of  my  brother  are  idle  words  and  mean  nothing. 
My  young  men  are  many,  and  yours  are  few ;  yet  shall 
your  young  men  go  unharmed  if  you  give  to  us  our 
warrior." 

He  swept  his  blanket  over  his  shoulder  with  a  sudden 
gesture,  and  scowled.  For  answer  Captain  Yates  drew 
from  its  holster  his  army  revolver  and  presented  it  at 
Rain-in-the-Face's  breast.  The  Sioux  looked  far  away 
beyond  the  horizon,  but  his  nostrils  dilated. 

"  It  is  well,"  said  the  chief  hastily,  "  for  my  brother's 
words  are  words  of  wisdom.  Take  two  warriors  to  the 
Great  Father,  but  leave' us  this  young  man,  that  he 
may  teach  us  that  blindness  is  not  wise." 

In  answer  to  his  gesture  two  Indian  youths  stepped 
forward,  proud  of  the  distinction. 

"  See,"  went  on  the  chief,  "  these  shall  go  with  your 
young  men,  and  all  will  be  well." 

Yates  lowered  his  pistol,  and  turned. 

"  Tell  him,"  he  said  to  the  interpreter,  "  that  this 
man  goes  with  us.  If  I  see  the  muzzle  of  a  rifle,  I'll 
shoot  him  dead." 

The  savages  listened  gravely.  Their  first  burst  of 
rage  had  passed,  and,  as  always  with  their  race,  they 
were  loath  to  engage  in  a  stand-up  fight  in  cold  blood. 
The  Indian  is  brave  enough,  but  he  likes  to  be  brave 
in  his  own  way.  The  chief  turned  and  waved  his  hand. 
Ten  minutes  later  bands  of  savages  were  speeding 
swiftly  away  in  all  directions,  and  the  agency  was  en 
tirely  deserted. 


THE   MAKING   OF   A   HOSTILE     61 

The  little  command  shortly  after  set  out  on  its  return 
trip.  Yates  fully  expected  to  be  attacked  before  he  re 
joined  his  chief;  but  although  many  savages  were  at 
various  times  visible,  hurrying  by,  the  troops  arrived 
at  Fort  Lincoln  in  due  course,  and  Custer  stood  face 
to  face  with  his  future  slayer. 

There  is  little  need  to  repeat  here  the  details  of  Rain- 
in-the-Face's  captivity.  It  is  interesting,  but  not  of 
the  story.  He  received  visits  from  great  warriors  rep 
resenting  various  tribes  of  the  Sioux  nation — Brule, 
Yankton,  Teton,  Ogallala — all  uniting  to  honor  him. 
To  the  surprise  of  the  few  white  spectators,  these  vis 
itors  kissed  the  young  captive  on  the  cheek,  a  mark  of 
respect  and  affection  almost  unheard  of  among  this 
savage  people.  Two  of  the  younger  warriors  asked 
and  received  permission  to  share  his  captivity  for  a 
time.  Rain-in-the-Face  bore  the  imprisonment  well; 
was  docile,  friendly,  apparently  happy.  He  had  many 
talks  with  General  Custer,  and  came  to  be  well  liked. 

But  he  had  much  leisure  for  thought,  and  he  was  a 
proud  man. 

After  some  months,  two  white  men,  grain  thieves, 
were  placed  in  the  same  guard  house.  Being  enter 
prising  pioneers,  they  promptly  sawed  a  hole  and 
escaped.  Rain-in-the-Face  availed  himself  of  the 
opening. 

Once  under  the  open  sky,  he  adjusted  his  moccasins 
and  struck  boldly  across  the  prairie  for  the  West. 
Rain-in-the-Face  was  no  longer  an  agency  Indian,  but 
a  hostile. 


IX 

THE   BROTHER   OF   GODS 

RAIN-IN-THE-FACE  had  no  very  definite  idea 
of  where  he  should  go.     The  main  and  press 
ing  need  was  to  put  a  certain  distance  between 
himself  and  his  pursuers  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

To  this  end,  he  pushed  diligently  north-west  in  a 
bee  line.  At  first  he  covered  his  trail  skilfully,  so 
that  Custer's  men  would  have  to  guess  his  direction 
of  flight  as  any  one  of  the  three  hundred  and  sixty  de 
grees  of  the  complete  circle.  After  a  little,  this  was 
unnecessary.  It  became  desirable  to  fall  in  with  a 
camp  of  the  Sioux,  in  order  that  he  might  be  directed 
to  his  own  tribe  of  that  people,  the  Uncpapa. 

But  as  day  followed  day,  Rain-in-the-Face  owned 
himself  puzzled.  In  the  space  of  time  that  had  elapsed 
since  his  escape,  he  should  have  encountered  a  dozen 
bands,  for  he  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
country  and  with  the  Indian  habit  of  life.  The  village 
sites  were  deserted,  the  plains  were  empty.  The  Ind 
ian  did  not  know  of  the  two  expeditions,  commanded 
respectively  by  Crook  and  Terry,  which,  the  one  from 
the  south  and  the  other  from  the  north,  were  converg 
ing  at  the  Big  Horn;  nor  that  in  that  district  nearly 
every  plains  Indian  had  encamped,  either  openly  allied 
with  Sitting  Bull,  or  near  enough  to  become  so  should 
such  a  move  seem  expedient. 

So  for  a  week  he  subsisted  alone  as  only  an  Indian 
can. 

62 


THE   BROTHER   OF   GODS         63 

Let  loose  a  tired  pony  at  night  on  the  plains,  and 
in  the  morning  he  will  turn  up  well  fed  and  full  of 
vigor.  It  is  the  same  with  a  savage.  He  knows  ex 
pedients  for  getting  food,  for  preparing  it,  for  combat 
ing  thirst,  for  sleeping  in  bad  weather  with  some  degree 
of  comfort,  which  a  white  man  never  acquires  without 
a  long  and  hazardous  apprenticeship.  It  is  a  case 
of  the  survival  of  the  fittest;  and  the  Indian  always 
survives. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  week,  Rain-in-the-Face  drew 
near  the  low  hills  of  the  Cheyenne  River,  in  good  con 
dition,  except  that  his  moccasins  were  nearly  worn  out. 
Then  he  became  aware  of  a  camp.  As  beseemed  a 
good  warrior,  he  scouted  carefully  until  he  had  satis 
fied  himself  that  the  lodges  were  those  of  people  of  his 
own  nation.  Then  he  allowed  himself  to  be  captured 
by  the  herd  boys  and  escorted  to  Lone  Wolf,  the  chief 
of  the  band. 

Lone  Wolf  had  been  easily  persuaded  by  Lafond 
that  it  was  not  good  policy  to  join  Sitting  Bull.  The 
tribe  was  well  fed  and  rich.  It  could  gain  nothing  by 
such  a  war,  and  could  lose  much.  Now  was  the  time 
to  prepare  against  the  coming  winter;  now,  in  the 
early  summer,  when  the  energy  of  the  band  was  at  its 
flood.  War  it  had  enjoyed  but  recently  with  the 
Pawnees ;  so  the  hearts  of  the  young  men  were  big 
with  valor.  Let  them  equally  enjoy  the  chase,  the 
other  branch  of  a  brave's  education. 

These,  and  a  hundred  like  reasons,  Lafond  had  urged 
so  plausibly  that  the  chief  had  come,  without  difficulty, 
to  his  way  of  thinking.  After  all,  why  not  at  least 
await  the  plum  season,  and  the  great  gathering  of 
prairie  chickens  which  was  invariably  consequent  on 


64  THE   WESTERNERS 

the  ripening  of  the  fruit  ?  With  that  plan  in  view,  the 
warrior  had  moved  his  band  and  all  its  household 
goods  to  the  banks  of  the  Cheyenne,  where  he  settled 
down  peaceably  to  a  season  of  plenty.  There  Rain-in- 
the-Face  found  him. 

The  camp  had  been  pitched,  after  the  usual  rambling 
manner,  in  a  broad  grass  park  of  sandy  subsoil,  below 
hills  on  which  wandered  the  ponies  in  times  of  safety, 
or  lurked  the  sentinels  in  time  of  danger.  Above  the 
lodges,  like  blazoned  arms,  were  suspended  the  spears 
and  shields  of  the  warriors,  and  before  the  open  flap  of 
each  the  owner  could  be  seen  sprawled  in  dignified 
idleness  among  his  favorite  squaws.  Children  sat 
grave  and  silent  near  at  hand,  or  whirled  in  mimic  and 
noisy  warfare  farther  out  over  the  prairie.  Dogs 
skulked  here  and  there.  Kettles  above  shallow  fire 
holes  bubbled  and  steamed.  About  over  the  ground 
was  strewn  the  indescribable  litter  of  a  long-used  camp. 
Through  the  early  summer  air  rose  shrill  laughter,  the 
sounds  of  good-natured  chaff,  the  yelp  pf  dogs  and  the 
hum  of  lower  conversation ;  for,  no  matter  how  shy 
or  stoical  an  Indian  may  seem  before  strangers,  he  is 
sociable  enough  among  his  own  people.  Near  the 
centre  of  the  village  stood  the  lodge  of  Lone  Wolf. 
At  his  hand  sat  Michail  Lafond. 

The  half-breed  had  in  the  past  two  years  reverted 
almost  to  the  type  of  his  more  savage  parent.  His 
hair  was  long  and  worn  loose,  after  the  Sioux  fashion. 
The  upper  part  of  his  body  was  naked.  About  his  neck 
hung  a  string  of  bears'  claws.  Paint  streaked  his 
countenance.  White  buckskin  leggings,  ornamented 
with  beads,  covered  his  legs.  Only  the  shifty  character 
of  his  eye  and  a  certain  finer  modelling  of  the  bold  lines 


THE   BROTHER   OF   GODS         65 

of  his  face  differentiated  him  from  the  full-blooded 
Sioux  at  his  side.  The  two  were  conversing  in  the 
Sioux  language. 

To  them  the  boys  brought  their  stranger.  From 
various  directions  squaws  and  children  sidled  nearer 
for  a  look.  The  warriors,  disdaining  such  an  exhibi 
tion  of  womanish  curiosity,  remained  placidly  smok 
ing  in  the  sunshine.  Near  at  hand  the  sounds  of 
laughter  and  of  conversation  died,  and  the  solemnity 
of  ceremony  fell. 

As  he  approached,  the  stranger  raised  his  right  hand, 
palm  forward,  in  token  of  peace,  and  then  drew  the 
edge  of  the  same  hand  across  his  throat  from  left  to 
right.  This  latter  is  the  "  sign  "  of  the  Sioux,  and  thus 
Lone  Wolf  was  made  aware  that  he  received  one  of  his 
own  nation.  Lone  Wolf  inclined  slightly,  and  raised 
his  hand  with  the  peace  gesture.  The  three  then  sat 
and  the  inevitable  pipe  was  produced. 

Thus  Rain-in-the-Face  was  received  with  all  cere 
mony.  Later,  the  first  dip  into  the  kettle  of  boiling 
meat  was  conceded  him,  and  in  that  manner  he  was 
made  free  of  Lone  Wolf's  lodge.  No  question  was 
asked  as  to  his  identity,  and  he  vouchsafed  no  informa 
tion  ;  that  would  come  later,  when  the  warriors  gath 
ered  for  a  formal  powwow. 

And  in  the  meantime,  Michail  Lafond's  roving 
French  eyes  took  in  every  detail  of  the  stranger's  ap 
pearance,  and  his  keen  French  mind  drew  its  own  con 
clusions.  Near  the  close  of  the  afternoon,  he  left  his 
seat  and  addressed  the  stranger. 

"  My  brother  knows  ponies,"  said  he.  "  Will  he 
look  upon  one  of  mine  ?  " 

It  was  equivalent  to  an  invitation  to  call.   The  savage 


66  THE   WESTERNERS 

arose  and  stalked  by  the  half-breed's  side  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Lafond's  fine  lodge  of  whitened  skins.  As  they 
approached,  two  young  squaws  glided  away.  Lafond 
spoke  a  word  to  one  of  them,  and  a  moment  later  the 
boys  of  the  camp  raced  eagerly  in  the  direction  of  the 
band  of  ponies  on  the  hill. 

The  lodge  of  Michail  Lafond  stood  just  beyond  the 
village  proper  and  on  a  slight  elevation.  The  entire 
camp  lay  spread  out  before  it,  a  panorama  to  be  seized 
by  a  single  sweep  of  the  eye. 

The  savage  paused  for  a  moment  before  entering 
the  doorway,  and  looked  about  him  with  a  little  envy. 
Never  had  he  visited  a  band  so  well  supplied  with 
ponies,  so  efficiently  armed,  so  wealthy  in  robes  and 
lodges  and  kettles  and  all  the  other  articles  of  Indian 
wealth  which  go  to  make  up  prosperity.  Lafond 
watched  him  closely.  The  Indian  turned  inside  the 
doorway,  and  sat  down  on  a  heavily  furred  buffalo  skin 
near  the  entrance.  In  the  background  wallowed  a  dim 
confusion  of  skins,  robes,  and  utensils.  Lafond  placed 
himself  beside  his  guest  and  the  pipe  was  lighted. 

The  stir  following  the  stranger's  arrival  had  lulled. 
The  women  and  children,  having  satisfied  their  curios 
ity  as  to  his  personal  appearance,  returned  to  their 
wonted  occupations,  so  that  once  again  the  mingled 
noises  of  the  camp  rose  from  the  little  valley. 

In  a  moment  the  young  squaw  led  up  a  pony.  The 
animal  was  fine  above  the  average.  Its  limbs  were  deer- 
like  in  delicacy,  its  nostrils  were  wide,  its  neck  slender 
and  tapering — quite  in  contrast  to  the  ordinary  Indian 
pony's  clumsiness  in  this  respect — and,  above  all,  it 
was  marked  black  and  white  in  the  pinto  fashion.  This 
last  is  considered  to  indicate  superior  spirit  and  is  much 


THE  BROTHER   OF  GODS         67 

prized.  The  woman  had  twisted  pieces  of  bright- 
colored  cloth  and  eagle  feathers  into  the  mane  and 
tail. 

At  the  sight  of  so  beautiful  an  animal,  the  stranger 
exclaimed  in  delight. 

"  It  pleases  my  brother?  "  inquired  Lafond  politely. 
"  It  is  his." 

The  squaw  led  the  beast  forward,  touching  the  young 
warrior's  hand  with  the  end  of  the  halter  in  token  of 
proprietorship.  Lafond  rose  and  closed  the  tent  flap. 
The  noises  of  the  camp  were  at  once  muffled,  and  twi 
light  fell. 

"  My  brother  is  a  great  warrior,"  he  began  after  a 
moment,  "  yet  he  has  need  of  ponies,  for  he  comes  on 
foot  and  his  moccasins  are  worn." 

The  stranger,  impassive  but  watchful,  made  no 
answer. 

"  My  brother  has  come  far  ?  "  went  on  Lafond  cun 
ningly. 

"  Far,"  repeated  the  youth  politely. 

"  His  eyes  have  seen  the  waters  of  the  Great  River?  " 

The  savage  bowed. 

"  Perhaps  his  pony  was  lost  there  ?  " 

"  It  may  be." 

"  The  sight  of  the  white  man  frightened  him  and  he 
was  drowned  ?  " 

The  Indian's  eyes  flashed. 

"  It  may  be  so." 

"  On  his  back  my  brother  bears  great  scars,"  said 
Lafond  suddenly  after  a  short  pause;  "but  they  are 
the  scars  of  a  brave  man.  He  bears  other  scars  on 
his  face ;  they  are  the  scars  of  shame." 

He  ceased  abruptly  at  the  stranger's  fierce  ejacula 
tion.  The  Indian  seemed  about  to  spring  on  him. 


68  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  But,"  the  half-breed  went  on  in  haste,  "  my  brother 
will  destroy  the  shame,  and  the  scars  will  go."  He 
leaned  forward  and  touched  the  savage  lightly  on  his 
bare  shoulder.  "  They  are  the  scars  from  the  white 
man's  prison,"  he  said. 

For  a  moment  the  stranger's  face  was  a  study  in  livid 
hate.  Then  all  expression  died  from  it,  leaving  it  stolid 
as  before. 

The  half-breed  smoked  in  silence.  His  surmises 
had  been  correct.  This  was  indeed  the  young  hero 
of  the  sun  dance,  the  news  of  whose  imprisonment  had, 
by  chance,  come  to  his  ears  but  a  short  time  before. 
He  considered.  Finally,  he  turned  to  his  guest  once 
more. 

"  My  brother  has  travelled  many  miles,"  he  said. 
"  Tell  me,  has  he  seen  the  lodges  of  his  people?  " 

"  The  prairies  have  been  waste." 

"  I  will  tell  you  why.  The  great  white  war  chief 
has  gone  with  his  young  men  beyond  Pah-sap-pah. 
There  the  warriors  will  strike  him  and  destroy  him. 
My  brother's  people  are  there." 

The  hate  came  back  into  the  Indian's  face  with  a 
flash.  He  fingered  the  haft  of  a  knife  that  lay  near 
his  hand. 

"  I  will  join  my  people,"  he  said. 

"  And  aid  them.  It  is  well.  But  will  my  brother 
go  alone  and  without  arms  ?  " 

"  What  would  you  ?  "  replied  the  Indian  bitterly. 
"  Am  I  a  chief  that  I  should  go  attended  ?  Do  arrows 
and  rifles  grow  on  the  prairies  ?  " 

The  half-breed  craftily  permitted  another  impressive 
but  momentary  silence  to  fall. 

"  But  if  my  brother  were  to  ride  with  a  hundred 


THE   BROTHER   OF   GODS          69 

fighting  men;  on  his  own  pony;  with  a  rifle  in  his 
hand — would  not  that  be  more  in  accord  with  his 
dignity  as  a  brave  warrior?"  he  suggested  suddenly. 

"  Where  are  a  hundred  such  ?  " 

Lafond  arose  and  pulled  aside  the  flap  of  the  tent. 
The  camp  lay  in  the  half  glow  as  a  flat  picture,  and  its 
noise  burst  in  through  the  open  doorway  like  a  blare 
of  music.  The  Indian's  expressive  eyes  flashed  com 
prehension. 

"  And  if  they  go  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I,  too,  have  enemies,"  replied  Lafond. 

Rain-in-the-Face  smoked  meditatively.  If  this  man 
held  the  power  to  sway  thus  the  policy  of  the  camp, 
why  did  he  not  use  it  to  crush  the  enemies  of  whom 
he  had  spoken  ?  What  added  force  could  a  young,  un 
armed  stranger  bring  him  that  would  compensate  for 
the  trouble  and  expense  to  which  he  was  putting  him 
self? 

Lafond  saw  the  hesitation  and  dreaded  aright. 

"  My  enemies  dwell  in  Pah-sap-pah,"  said  he  simply. 

In  that  sentence  he  exposed  the  weakness  of  his 
position.  Pah-sap-pah  was  sacred,  so  sacred  that  for 
many  years  miners  fled  to  it  as  to  a  sanctuary,  certain 
that  once  within  its  dark  border  pursuit  would  cease. 
Hunts  in  it  were  undertaken  only  at  certain  times  of 
the  year,  and  under  peculiar  auspices.  War  died  into 
peace  when  it  dashed  against  those  sombre  cliffs.  The 
winds  in  the  trees  were  voices  of  Soulless  Ones,  be 
wailing  always  their  fate ;  the  frown  of  sun-red  Harney 
— or  the  peak  afterward  known  under  that  name — was 
instinct  with  the  brooding  wrath  of  some  great  mani- 
tou,  who  slept  lightly  only  when  his  children  disturbed 
him  not.  Even  the  powerful  influence  of  Michai'l  La- 


70  THE   WESTERNERS 

fond  had  failed  to  induce  Lone  Wolf  to  enter  the  Black 
Hills  on  an  errand  of  murder. 

But  the  name  of  Rain-in-the-Face  was  one  to  con 
jure  with  in  just  such  matters  as  these.  He  was  not 
only  a  brave  man  and  a  great  warrior,  but  he  was 
favored  of  the  gods.  In  the  belief  of  the  Sioux  nation, 
his  wonderful  endurance  in  the  sun  dance  was  at  once 
evidence  and  warranty  of  it.  Without  divine  favor  he 
could  not  have  endured  so  long;  enduring  so  long 
had  brought  to  him  great  abundance  of  divine  favor. 
So,  without  actually  professing  to  be  a  medicine  man, 
he  had  freely  accorded  to  him  all  the  confidence  a  mem 
ber  of  the  priestcraft  usually  enjoys.  If  Lafond  could 
induce  Rain-in-the-Face  to  lead,  the  warriors  of  the 
band  would  follow  blindly,  even  into  Pah-sap-pah  itself. 

The  Indian  started  as  he  caught  the  import  of  La- 
fond's  words. 

"  My  brother  has  looked  upon  the  face  of  the  angry 
Manitou,"  went  on  Lafond  eagerly ;  "  and  he  has  not 
been  afraid.  He  has  danced  the  dance  of  death,  and 
the  great  Manitou  has  stretched  out  his  hand  and  held 
him  up.  My  brother  is  favored  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
and  he  is  not  afraid." 

"  It  is  Pah-sap-pah,"  replied  the  Indian  sombrely. 

"  Yes,  it  is  Pah-sap-pah,  and  Pah-sap-pah  is  sacred. 
In  Pah-sap-pah  are  two  men,  and  they  go  here  and 
there  breaking  her  rocks,  cutting  her  trees,  defiling  her 
streams.  They  profane  the  spirits.  On  the  clouds  of 
the  mountain  Gitche  Manitou  frowns  because  his  chil 
dren  permit  it.  '  Why  comes  not  one  to  take  these 
away?  '  he  says.  '  My  children  have  forgotten  me." ' 

"  Gitche  Manitou  is  great,"  said  Rain-in-the-Face 
thoughtfully.  "Why  does  he  not  destroy  his  ene 
mies?" 


THE   BROTHER   OF   GODS          71 

"  Gitche  Manitou  destroys  through  his  chosen.  De 
stroy  thou,  and  it  will  be  Gitche  Manitou  who  destroys 
through  thy  hand." 

The  wily  half-breed  had  caught  this  doctrine  of  the 
Jesuit  in  his  old  north  country  home,  and  his  crafty 
use  of  it  impressed  its  force  strongly  on  the  savage's 
mind.  Lafond  proceeded — 

"  And  who  more  fitted  than  Rain-in-the-Face  ?  " 

The  Indian  glanced  at  him  with  new  respect  at  this 
knowledge  of  his  name. 

"  For  he  stands  near  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  the  war 
riors  will  follow  him." 

The  half-breed  paused,  pretending  to  consider  the 
difficulties. 

"  The  men  are  but  two  and  there  is  a  woman.  There 
are  here  a  hundred  warriors,  and  each  warrior  has  a 
gun  and  much  powder.  When  the  profane  ones  have 
been  destroyed,  then  Rain-in-the-Face  will  turn  north 
ward  and  enter  the  camp  of  Sitting  Bull  at  the  head 
of  many  fighting  men.  It  little  beseems  so  great  a 
warrior  of  the  Uncpapas  to  go  begging  a  rifle  from  the 
Tetons ! " 

The  mind  of  Rain-in-the-Face,  thus  relieved  of  some 
degree  of  its  superstitious  fear,  lay  fully  open  to  this 
last  appeal  to  his  pride.  He  picked  up  his  pipe  and 
puffed  stolidly  on  it  twice. 

"  The  enemies  of  my  brother  shall  die,"  said  he. 

Before  the  formal  conference  of  that  evening,  Michail 
Lafond  had  arranged  to  carry  out  his  side  of  the  bar 
gain.  He  had  done  this  very  simply.  After  the  con 
versation  in  the  lodge  he  had  gone  to  Lone  Wolf. 

"  The  stranger  is  Rain-in-the-Face,  of  the  Uncpa 
pas,"  said  he.  "  He  is  pleased  with  our  warriors  and 
he  wishes  to  lead  them  against  the  great  white  war 


72  THE   WESTERNERS 

chief  near  the  Big  Horn.  There  are  also  strangers  in 
Pah-sap-pah  whom  it  is  the  will  of  Gitche  Manitou  that 
Rain-in-the-Face  should  destroy,  and  he  desires  your 
help." 

Lone  Wolf  was  delighted.  That  so  famous  a  war 
rior  should  choose  his  band  was  honor  enough  to  re 
pay  any  effort. 

In  all  this  transaction,  the  offices  of  Michail  Lafond 
could  easily  have  been  dispensed  with.  If  Lone  Wolf 
had  gone  to  Rain-in-the-Face  and  said,  "  Behold,  here 
are  my  young  men.  Lead  them,"  the  latter  would 
have  accepted  the  tender  with  joy.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  stranger  had  merely  announced  his  identity 
to  Lone  Wolf,  that  chieftain  would  gladly  have  fur 
nished  him  with  everything  he  needed.  But  each  was 
in  the  dark  as  to  one  fact,  of  which  Lafond  had  knowl 
edge.  Rain-in-the-Face  did  not  suspect  how  his  im 
prisonment  had  increased  his  importance,  nor  did  he 
know  that  the  deep  content  which  brooded  over  Lone 
Wolf's  camp  was  only  apparent,  and  had  been  carefully 
fostered  by  Lafond.  Nor  did  Lone  Wolf  recognize 
Rain-in-the-Face,  nor  realize  how  anxious  the  youth 
was  for  an  escort  to  uphold  his  pride.  It  was  by  seeing 
little  things  of  this  sort,  and  acting  upon  them,  that 
the  half-breed  had  gained  so  much  influence. 

Four  days  later,  Lone  Wolf's  camp  swept  north 
westward  toward  the  Big  Horn  Mountain.  On  the 
25th  of  June,  Rain-in-the-Face  confronted  General 
Custer,  on  a  knoll  near  the  river  of  the  Little  Big  Horn. 
A  great  battle  was  all  but  over,  and  the  few  remaining 
troopers,  their  last  cartridges  gone,  were  righting 
desperately  with  sabres. 

The  savage  shot  the  white  man  through  the  heart. 


X 

THE   PRICE   OF   A   CLAIM 

ALL  through  this  time  of  dread  and  danger,  oi 
plot  and  counterplot  and  intrigue,  of  brooding 
war  and  half-awakened  pillage,  the  doctor  went 
on  peacefully  collecting  his  funny  little  statistics,  ut 
terly  oblivious  to  everything  but  their  accumulation 
and  arrangement.  Every  morning  of  the  warmer 
months  he  went  out  into  the  hills  for  the  day.  There 
he  would  grub  about  among  his  ledges  and  leads,  peck 
ing  away  at  the  rocks  with  his  little  hand  pick,  filling 
his  canvas  bags,  jotting  down  notes  and  statistics  in 
his  notebook. 

During  its  progress  he  was  blind  to  everything  but 
his  work.  One  day,  as  he  walked  along  the  top  of  a 
ridge,  a  huge  bear  rose  up  in  his  path.  The  doctor 
politely  lifted  his  hat  and  passed  to  one  side.  The  de 
cline  of  the  sun  alone  he  noticed.  When  the  shadow 
of  Harney  crept  out  to  him  he  turned  toward  home. 
As  he  neared  the  log  cabin  his  placid  eyes  fairly  beamed 
through  his  spectacles.  When  he  came  in  sight  of  it 
he  ran  forward,  his  specimen  bags  swinging  heavily 
against  his  legs,  caught  up  the  child  stumbling  to  meet 
him  and  carried  her,  laughing  and  struggling,  to  the 
woman  in  the  doorway.  Then  they  had  supper  all  to 
gether — bacon,  or  perhaps  game,  with  vegetables  from 
the  garden,  and  corn  bread.  Occasionally  they  had 
white  bread  and  coffee,  and  always  fresh  water  from 
the  cold  mountain  creek.  After  supper  the  doctor  went 

73 


74  THE   WESTERNERS 

outdoors  to  arrange  his  specimens  and  plot  out  his 
notes  as  long  as  the  daylight  lasted.  His  wife  moved 
about  inside  softly.  After  a  time  she  brought  out  the 
little  girl  in  her  nightdress  to  be  kissed.  So  the  twi 
light  neared,  and  the  long  day  was  done. 

As  the  yellow  glow  crept  down,  she  came  outdoors 
too,  and  sat  pensively  looking  over  the  peaks  of  the 
lower  mountains  to  the  distant  Cheyenne  and  the 
prairies.  Beyond  them  was  the  East.  There  were 
cities  and  books  and  other  women  and  the  beat  of 
human  life  in  the  air.  Here  was  a  still,  lonely  grandeur 
that  even  the  wind  in  the  pines  did  not  relieve. 

The  doctor  finally  had  to  put  aside  his  work  for  lack 
of  light,  and  sat  at  her  feet  leaning  against  the  logs  of 
the  cabin.  She  looked  down  on  his  little  figure,  his 
round  shoulders,  his  forehead  even  now  abstract  and 
wrinkled  with  speculation,  his  kindly  blue  eyes,  his 
sensitive  mouth,  and  then  she  softly  reached  out  and 
took  his  hand.  The  two  sat  there  until  the  moon  rose 
over  the  Bad  Lands.  Then  they  went  inside.  In  mo 
ments  such  as  this  the  woman  lived. 

In  winter  time  the  doctor  sat  near  the  fireplace,  writ 
ing  by  the  candlelight  on  his  great  book.  She  was 
in  the  shadow,  looking  at  him  with  tenderness,  smil 
ing  wearily  at  the  eager  quivering  of  his  chin,  and 
rocking  gently  back  and  forth.  The  little  girl  played 
demurely  on  the  floor  within  the  circle  of  firelight,  her 
curls  falling  down  on  her  forehead.  She  piled  up  her 
blocks,  and  occasionally,  as  one  would  fall,  she  would 
look  up  in  deprecation  of  her  mother's  hush.  The 
golden  heads  of  the  mother  and  child  were  like  sun 
shine  before  the  dark  walls  of  the  cabin.  Against  them 
the  firelight  gleamed.  Outside,  the  thin,  light  snow 


THE   PRICE   OF  A   CLAIM          75 

drifted  fitfully  by  the  pane.  The  doctor  wrote.  The 
woman  watched  in  patience.  The  child  played. 

As  spring  came  on,  the  doctor  got  out  into  the  hills 
again. 

One  day  he  came  back  and  found  the  woman  mur 
dered  and  the  child  gone.  The  cabin  was  ransacked 
from  one  end  to  the  other,  but  no  attempt  had  been 
made  to  fire  it. 

The  doctor  put  his  specimen  bags  methodically  in 
their  places,  and  then  sat  down  by  his  dead  wife. 

At  evening  some  passing  miners  found  him  there 
holding  her  hand.  With  some  difficulty,  and  by  the 
exercise  of  a  gentle  force,  they  persuaded  him  to  rise, 
after  which  they  tenderly  laid  the  body  on  a  couch, 
concealing  as  best  they  might  the  red  tonsure  where 
the  scalp  had  been.  They  set  the  cabin  in  order  and 
cooked  supper  from  the  provisions  in  their  wagon. 
The  doctor  ate  and  drank  in  silence,  making  no  sign 
when  the  men  spoke  to  him. 

After  supper  he  went  outside  and  began  to  arrange 
his  specimens.  When  darkness  fell  he  came  in,  stood 
undecided  for  a  moment,  and  then  lay  down  on  a  bear 
skin,  Jim's  gift,  and  slept. 

The  men  looked  at  one  another  in  a  puzzled  way, 
conversing  in  low  tones.  Soon  they  too  rolled  them 
selves  up  and  went  to  sleep  on  the  floor. 

Early  in  the  morning  Jim  Buckley  came  down  the 
gulch  with  part  of  a  deer.  The  men  told  him  the  news 
hurriedly,  between  mouthfuls  of  coffee.  Jim  looked 
at  the  dead  woman  with  a  hardening  of  the  mouth  and 
a  softening  of  the  eyes ;  then  he  went  out  and  for  the 
first  time  took  the  doctor's  hand. 

When  they  had  finished  breakfast,  the  men  made 
a  rough  bier  of  willow  branches  plaited,  on  which  they 


76  THE   WESTERNERS 

gently  laid  the  body.  Two  went  down  to  the  soft 
earth  by  the  creek  bottom  and  began  to  dig.  The 
others  followed  with  their  burden,  which  they  laid  be 
side  the  growing  excavation,  and  then  stood  with  bared 
heads,  waiting  for  the  diggers.  The  doctor  would  not 
come.  After  a  little  persuasion  they  left  him  sitting  on 
the  ground,  leaning  against  the  logs  of  the  cabin,  look 
ing  out  over  the  bluffs  of  the  Cheyenne  to  the  east. 

The  men  in  the  trench  worked  rapidly  and  skilfully, 
one  loosening  the  gravel  with  his  pick,  the  other 
shovelling  it  out  on  the  grass.  Suddenly  the  latter 
stopped  in  the  act  of  tossing  a  shovelful.  He  pushed 
his  stubby  forefinger  in  among  the  gravel  for  a  mo 
ment  and  drew  out  an  irregular  bit  of  metal.  It  was 
gold. 

They  buried  the  young  wife  elsewhere,  and  staked 
out  the  claim,  and  others,  lying  along  the  creek. 

So  Prue  slept  quietly  at  last.  Her  little  life  was 
drab-colored  in  spite  of  the  lights  of  adventure  and 
drama  that  had  played  over  it.  It  contained  a  great 
love  and  a  great  sacrifice.  So  little  of  the  gold  would 
have  made  her  happy,  and  yet  all  the  wealth  of  these 
new  placers  could  not  have  saved  her  at  the  last ! 

A  rider  dashed  up  to  them  at  the  cabin,  bringing 
news  of  the  outbreak.  It  was  directed  to  the  towns 
of  the  North,  and  had  only  brushed  Spanish  Gulch  on 
its  destroying  way.  The  men  camped  on  the  site  of 
the  new  placer.  They  built  cradles  and  pumped  water 
down  from  Spanish  Creek,  so  that  in  a  little  time  the 
gulch  contained  quite  a  town.  ,The  first  discovery  is 
known  as  the  Doctor's  Claim,  and  so  you  can  find  it 
recorded  in  the  records  of  Pennington  County  to-day. 
It  turned  out  to  be  very  rich. 

And  as  for  the  doctor — he  died. 


XI 

THE  BEGINNING  OF   LAFOND'S  REVENGE 

THE  day  following  the  conference,  Lone  Wolf 
struck  camp.  The  squaws  quickly  removed  and 
rolled  into  convenient  bundles  the  skin  cover 
ings  of  the  tepees.  The  poles  of  the  latter  were 
strapped  on  each  side  of  the  ponies  in  such  a  manner 
that,  their  ends  dragging  on  the  ground,  a  sort  of  litter 
was  formed  for  the  transportation  of  the  household 
goods  and  the  younger  children.  Before  the  sun  was 
an  hour  high,  the  caravan  was  under  way. 

From  this,  the  South  Fork  of  the  Cheyenne,  the 
main  band,  under  Lone  Wolf,  were  to  push  directly 
through  to  the  Big  Horn.  Lafond,  Rain-in-the-Face, 
and  the  warriors  detailed  for  the  expedition  were  to 
carry  out  the  adventure  of  Pah-sap-pah  to  the  half- 
breed's  satisfaction,  and  were  then  to  rejoin  the  main 
body  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  smaller  band  cut  in  to  the  Black  Hills  shortly 
after  daybreak  one  morning.  It  rode  up  Spanish 
Gulch  a  little  before  noon. 

Most  of  these  warriors  had  never  before  entered  the 
dark  limits  of  Pah-sap-pah.  They  were  plainly  in  awe 
of  its  frowning  cliffs  and  rustling  pines.  They  rode 
close  together,  whispering  uneasily.  Even  Rain-in- 
the-Face  failed  to  reassure  them.  Why  should  he? 
He  was  a  little  afraid  himself. 

Lafond's  knowledge  of  the  topography  of  the  place 
was  excellent.  He  had  visited  it  several  times.  He 


78  THE   WESTERNERS 

had  watched  the  doctor,  step  by  step,  throughout  a 
Jong  day  of  geological  searching.  He  knew  Jim  Buck 
ley's  dwelling,  where  he  worked,  what  hours  he  kept, 
and  just  how  late  he  sat  up  at  night.  Innumerable 
times  he  had  viewed  the  doctor,  Prue,  and  the  scout 
through  the  buck-horn  sights  of  his  long  rifle ;  yet  he 
had  never  been  even  tempted  to  pull  the  trigger. 
Why?  Because  he  was  a  Latin,  and  so  theatrical  ef 
fects  were  dear  to  him  ;  because  he  was  an  Indian,  and 
so  revenge  with  him  seemed  to  lie  not  so  much  in  the 
mere  infliction  of  injury  as  in  the  victim's  realization 
that  he  was  being  come  up  with.  Lafond  not  only 
wanted  the  doctor  and  his  companions  to  be  killed,  but 
he  wanted  them  to  know  why  they  were  killed,  and  by 
whom.  It  was  finer  to  be  able  thus  to  do  the  thing 
with  all  the  stage  settings.  The  dramatic  instinct  was 
part  of  the  barbaric  quality  of  his  nature,  like  a  love 
for  red. 

So  Lafond  had  let  slip  innumerable  opportunities 
of  picking  off  his  victims  single-handed,  merely  to 
gain  the  local  knowledge  necessary  to  a  final  coup  de 
theatre.  Consequently,  he  knew  where  the  cabin  was 
situated,  and  quickly  scouted  the  state  of  affairs.  The 
coast  was  clear.  He  gave  the  required  signal;  the 
savages  silently  approached  on  foot,  and  they  entered 
the  little  house  together. 

Now  at  this  time  of  year,  in  the  Black  Hills,  there 
occurs  a  daily  meteorological  phenomenon  of  a  rather 
peculiar  character.  The  hot  air  from  the  prairies 
sweeps  over  from  the  Missouri  River,  crossing  a  num 
ber  of  lesser  streams  in  its  passage,  until  it  strikes  the 
slope  of  the  hills.  There  it  is  deflected  upward,  grad 
ually  becoming  colder  as  the  elevation  rises,  until,  at 


LAFONDS   REVENGE  79 

the  barrier  of  Harney,  it  gathers  in  rain  clouds.  These 
are  at  first  mere  wisps  of  down,  streaming  in  ragged 
ribbons  from  the  peak ;  but  with  incredible  rapidity 
they  gain  in  density  and  extent,  until  they  spread  over 
a  considerable  area  of  the  surrounding  country.  Then 
they  empty  themselves  in  a  terrific  deluge  of  water  and 
hail,  accompanied  by  thunderclaps  so  reverberant  that 
they  seem  to  arise  from  the  rending  of  the  hills  them 
selves.  After  this  short  crisis,  the  dismembered  clouds 
float  out  over  the  prairie  and  are  dissipated  in  the  hot 
air,  even  before  they  reach  the  first  white  turrets  of 
the  Bad  Lands. 

So  rapidly  does  the  storm  gather  and  break,  that 
there  is  but  a  short  half  hour  between  the  morning 
and  the  afternoon  clearness  of  the  skies.  To  those  who 
have  never  experienced  this  phenomenon,  it  is  star 
tling  in  the  extreme ;  to  those  who  have,  it  is  a  matter 
of  seeking  temporary  shelter  until  the  disturbance 
blows  over.  In  any  case,  the  first  indications  are  but 
scant  warning. 

By  the  time  the  little  band  of  Indians  had  reached 
the  doctor's  cabin,  the  first  wisps  of  cloud  were  cling 
ing  to  Harney.  While  they  were  in  the  house,  the 
blackness  gathered  and  loomed  and  darkened  until  the 
sun  was  obscured  and  the  western  hills  lost  themselves 
in  rain. 

The  doctor  was  in  the  hills.  Prue  was  making  the 
bed  in  the  little  bedroom,  and  little  Miss  Prue  was 
asleep  on  a  rug  in  one  corner  of  the  larger  apartment. 
The  savages  stole  in  with  noiseless,  moccasined  feet 
behind  the  stooping  woman.  Lafond,  forgetting  in  his 
excitement  everything  but  the  lust  of  killing,  stabbed 
her  deeply  twice  in  the  broad  of  the  back.  She  fell 


80  THE   WESTERNERS 

forward  on  the  bed  without  a  murmur,  and  the  mur 
derer,  seizing  the  knob  of  her  hair,  circled  her  brow 
with  his  knife's  edge,  and  ripped  loose  the  scalp.  Then 
they  all  glided  back  into  the  other  room. 

Three  of  the  savages  took  from  the  wood  box  near 
the  crude  fireplace  some  of  the  dried  kindling  with 
which  Jim  Buckley  had  supplied  the  family,  and  began 
to  build  a  little  wigwam-shaped  pyramid  against  the 
side  of  the  wall.  Others  moved  about  furtively,  prying 
here  and  there  for  possible  plunder.  They  preserved 
absolute  silence,  for  the  superstitious  terror  of  the 
place  was  working  on  them,  and  they  had  begun  to 
experience  that  panic-like  tremor  which  seems  to  create 
an  invisible  clutch  ready  to  seize  from  behind. 

Even  the  encouraging  presence  of  Rain-in-the-Face 
was  not  potent  enough  to  prevent  this.  Out  on  the 
plains  the  personality  of  the  man  had  loomed  large,  but 
here  the  legend  was  greater  than  he.  The  warriors 
felt  the  imminence  of  the  frowning,  brooding  manitou 
of  Harney ;  they  almost  heard  the  moaned  syllables  of 
the  Soulless  Ones'  complaint.  Their  movements  were 
those  of  timid  mice,  advancing  a  little,  hesitating  much, 
ready  to  flee  in  panic. 

Not  so  Lafond.  He  strode  roughly  over  to  the  cor 
ner  where  the  child  lay.  In  his  mind,  with  new  vivid 
ness,  burned  that  old  picture  of  his  humiliation.  He 
began  to  realize,  now  that  the  patient  repression  of 
his  hate  was  over,  how  potent  it  had  been.  Alfred  and 
Billy  Knapp  were  out  of  his  reach  for  the  present,  but 
here  were  the  others  ready  to  his  hand.  He  seized  lit 
tle  Prue  by  the  hair  of  her  head. 

The  child,  thus  suddenly  awakened,  screamed  vio 
lently,  shriek  upon  shriek,  as  her  terror  became  more 


LAFOND'S   REVENGE  81 

fully  conscious  of  the  savage  and  his  bloody  knife. 
About  the  room  the  warriors  paused  nervously.  Ac 
customed  enough  to  screams  of  this  sort,  they  were 
now  dominated  by  superstition  and  were  thrown  off 
their  wonted  balance. 

And  then  a  fearful  thing  occurred.  Before  their 
eyes,  in  the  open  door,  groped  and  staggered  the 
woman  Lafond  had  stabbed  but  a  moment  before. 
From  the  red  raw  surface  of  her  scalp  blood  streamed 
— streamed  over  the  remaining  fringe  of  her  hair,  mat 
ting  it  down ;  streamed  down  into  her  eyes,  blinding 
them  ;  over  her  drawn  countenance ;  over  the  dabbled, 
sticky,  clinging  fabric  of  her  garment,  reddened  still 
more  by  the  pulsing  flood  from  the  two  great  wounds 
in  her  body.  Her  breast  heaved  painfully,  the  breath 
coming  and  going  with  a  strange  bubbling  gurgle. 
Her  face  was  turned  upward  almost  to  the  ceiling  above 
in  the  agony  of  her  endeavor.  Her  little  hands,  be 
come  waxen,  clutched  and  unclutched  the  side  of  the 
door.  The  child  screamed  yet  again,  mercifully  hidden 
from  this  awful  sight  by  the  intervention  of  Lafond's 
body.  The  woman  made  a  supreme  effort  to  advance, 
plunged  forward,  and  rolled  over  and  over  on  the  cabin 
floor. 

At  the  same  instant,  with  a  shriek  of  wind  and  a  roar 
of  rain,  the  voice  of  the  thunder  spoke. 

The  savages,  who  had  watched  with  strained  eyes 
this  resurrection  from  the  dead,  yelled  in  an  ecstasy 
of  superstitious  terror  and  rushed  for  the  door. 

Lafond,  utterly  unmoved,  called  to  them  in  Indian 
and  swore  at  them  in  French,  but  they  were  gone.  He 
hesitated  for  a  moment  in  evident  indecision  as  to  what 
should  be  done  next.  Then  he  rapidly  bundled  the 


82  THE   WESTERNERS 

little  girl  in  a  blanket  and  threw  her  across  his  shoul 
der.  As  he  hurried  to  the  door,  he  paused  for  a  mo 
ment  over  the  motionless  heap  of  blood  and  rags  on 
the  floor,  coolly  thrusting  his  knife  again  and  again 
into  the  unresisting  flesh. 

He  caught  the  fugitives  only  below  the  canon  of 
Iron  Creek.  They  had  made  no  pause  until  well  out 
of  the  hills,  and  were  still  shaking  with  superstitious 
dread.  Even  Rain-in-the-Face,  bold  and  self-confident 
as  he  was,  had  yielded  to  the  panic ;  nor  could  the  per 
suasions,  threats  or  ridicule  of  the  half-breed  induce 
them  to  return. 

For  a  rime  Lafond  was  of  two  minds  as  to  his  own 
course  in  the  matter.  Should  he  leave  things  as  they 
were  for  the  present  or  should  he  return  alone  to  com 
plete  the  wofk?  Finally  he  decided  on  the  former. 
The  Gallic  love  of  the  spectacular  again  intervened; 
besides,  he  was  possessed  of  a  certain  large  feeling  that 
the  world  was  not  wide  enough  to  save  his  victims 
from  him  when  he  should  judge  the  time  fit.  He 
found  much  joy  in  gloating  over  what  he  imagined  the 
two  men  would  say,  do,  and  think  when  they  returned 
to  the  cabin.  And  he  was  a  good  deal  of  a  savage.  He 
looked  forward  with  fierce  delight  to  the  great  battle 
which  he  foresaw  would  soon  take  place  between  Sit 
ting  Bull  and  his  white  enemies.  So  he  rode  on  with 
the  little  band  of  warriors  to  overtake  Lone  Wolf. 

The  savages  plainly  could  not  understand  his  en 
cumbering  himself  with  the  child.  The  custom  had 
always  been  to  seize  such  a  victim  by  the  ankles,  whirl 
it  once  about  the  head  to  get  a  good  swing,  and  then 
to  dash  its  skull  violently  against  a  bowlder.  They  saw 
no  reason  why  the  rule  should  be  departed  from  in 


LAFOND'S   REVENGE  83 

this  case.  Neither  did  Lafond ;  but  the  queer,  zigzag 
intuition  of  the  half-breed  had  caused  him  to  feel  dimly 
that  he  should  preserve  the  child,  and  as  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  gratifying  his  whims,  he  proceeded  to  carry 
out  his  intention  in  this  case.  Once  his  decision  was 
expressed  in  emphatic  form,  his  companions  ac 
quiesced.  The  child  was  Michail's  captive;  with  his 
own  captive  he  could  work  his  will.  That  is  the  Ind 
ian  code. 

So  little  Miss  Prue  was  carried  for  seven  days  on 
the  back  of  a  horse.  She  did  not  cry  much,  and  this 
saved  her  from  violence.  Her  two  years  of  outdoor 
life  had  made  her  constitution  robust,  and  this  helped 
her  in  inevitable  privation.  At  the  end  of  the  week, 
the  band  caught  up  with  Lone  Wolf  and  his  camp,  and 
Miss  Prue  was  given  over  into  the  care  of  Lafond's 
two  young  squaws.  With  them  she  underwent  the 
customary  two  days'  jealousy,  and  then  entered  fully 
into  the  heritage  of  kindliness  which  every  Indian 
woman  squeezes,  drop  by  drop,  from  her  arid  life  and 
lavishes  on  the  creatures  who  are  gentle  with  her. 

She  had,  to  be  sure,  to  learn  the  Indian  virtues  of 
silence  and  obedience.  She  had  to  do  the  little  tasks 
that  are  set  to  girl  babies  everywhere  among  the  savage 
tribes.  And,  above  all,  she  had  to  learn  to  endure. 
But,  in  recompense,  the  two  Indian  women  adored  her. 
They  decked  her  out  in  beaded  work  and  white  buck 
skin  ;  they  put  bright  feathers  in  her  hair  and  bright 
beads  about  her  little  neck ;  they  saved  choice  bits  for 
her  from  the  family  kettle ;  and  when  night  came  they 
lay  on  either  side  of  her  and  softly  stroked  her  hair 
as  she  slept.  Over  her  head,  among  others,  hung  her 
mother's  scalp. 


XII 

THE   LEOPARD   AND    HIS   SPOTS 

]T  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  story  to  describe  the 
battle  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  in  detail.  That  has 
been  done  many  times.  There  is  little  about  it  that 
is  remarkable,  excepting  always  the  heroism  of  the 
men  who  fought  so  desperately.  The  scene  itself  must 
have  been  impressive,  as  viewed  by  the  non-combat 
ants  of  the  Indians  -from  the  bluffs  near  at  hand — the 
swirl  of  brown  about  the  melting  patch  of  blue.  After 
Custer  fell,  the  savages  turned  eagerly  down  the  valley 
to  attack  Reno,  leaving  the  dead  as  they  lay.  Lafond 
did  not  accompany  them.  The  sight  had  aroused  cer 
tain  reflections  in  his  breast,  and  he  wished  to  work 
the  thing  out. 

After  sunset,  he  went  alone  and  on  foot  over  to  the 
battlefield.  The  troopers  lay  as  they  had  fallen — first, 
Calhoun's  company  in  line,  with  its  officers  in  place ; 
then  Keogh's ;  finally,  on  the  knoll,  the  remnant,  scat 
tered  irregularly  among  the  dead  of  their  enemies.  In 
the  cold  light  their  faces  shone  white  and  still,  even 
yet  instinct  with  the  eagerness  of  battle ;  an  eagerness 
which  death  had  transmuted  from  flesh  to  marble. 
Near  the  centre  lay  Custer,  his  long  yellow  hair  fram 
ing  his  face,  his  hands  crossed  on  his  breast.  He  alone 
was  unmutilated,  save  by  the  shot  that  had  taken  his 
life. 

The  half-breed  did  not  hesitate  on  the  outer  circle 
of  the  combat,  but  picked  his  way  among  the  corpses 

84 


THE   LEOPARD  AND   HIS   SPOTS     85 

until  he  stood  on  the  summit  of  the  little  knoll.  Then 
he  folded  his  arms  and  looked  steadily  down  on  the 
white  man's  inscrutable  face. 

Whatever  might  be  Lafond's  intellectual  or  moral 
deficiencies,  lack  of  perspicacity  was  not  among  them. 
Through  the  red  glory  of  this  apparent  victory,  the 
most  sweeping  ever  accomplished  by  the  plains  Ind 
ians,  he  saw  clearly  the  imminence  of  final  defeat.  The 
dead  man  before  him  lay  smiling,  and  Lafond  perceived 
that  he  smiled  because  he  saw  his  people  arising  to 
avenge  him.  The  beat  of  the  muster  drum  calling  the 
avengers  to  the  frontier  now  sounded  in  prophecy  to 
his  hearing,  and  the  echoes  of  the  last  battle  shot 
merged  into  the  clang  of  an  iron  civilization,  which  was 
destined  to  push  these  exulting  victors  dispassionately 
aside.  It  was  a  striking  picture  of  light  and  of  shadow 
— this  dark,  savage  figure  silhouetted  against  the  soft 
ened  brightness  of  the  sky,  this  bright-haired  warrior 
lying  bathed  in  the  glorification  of  a  Western  night; 
the  white  man  humiliated,  defeated,  slain,  but  seeing 
with  closed  eyes  that  at  which  he  smiled  with  deep 
content ;  the  savage,  proud  in  success,  triumphant, 
victor,  but  perceiving  somehow,  in  the  very  evidences 
of  his  achievement,  that  which  made  him  knit  his 
brows.  How  little  was  this  great  victory  against  the 
background  of  the  people  whom  it  had  outraged,  and 
yet  how  mightily  it  would  stir  that  people  when  once 
it  became  known ! 

Michail  Lafond  the  savage  stood  before  the  body  of 
Custer  the  fallen,  for  an  hour,  moving  not  one  muscle 
all  the  time.  At  the  end  of  the  hour  Michail  Lafond 
the  civilized  turned  slowly  away,  and  walked  thought 
fully  toward  the  lodges  on  the  other  bank  of  the  Little 


86  THE   WESTERNERS 

Big  Horn  River.  The  sight  of  a  brave  man,  who  had 
died  as  he  lived,  had  reformed  Lafond,  but  whether 
moralists  would  have  approved  of  the  reformation  is 
to  be  doubted. 

The  night  ran  well  along  toward  morning.  The 
squaws,  who  had  been  plundering  and  mutilating  the 
dead,  had  long  since  returned  to  hear  the  report  of  the 
warriors  who  had  gone  to  attack  Reno.  The  attack 
had  failed,  but  the  fight  had  been  desperate  and  the 
losses  on  both  sides  heavy.  Six  of  Custer's  command, 
captured  alive,  were  burned  to  death.  At  last,  the  en 
tire  camp,  with  the  exception  of  the  women  sentinels, 
had  gone  to  rest.  Toward  daybreak,  even  these  be 
came  drowsy. 

Lafond  arose  quietly.  He  gathered  a  few  neces 
saries  into  a  pack,  placed  them  outside  the  doorway 
of  the  lodge,  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  returned. 
His  two  squaws  slept,  as  usual,  one  each  side  of  the 
little  girl.  Lafond  lifted  the  child  carefully  in  order 
that  he  might  not  awaken  her  guardians  or  herself,  and 
wrapped  her  closely  in  his  blanket.  At  the  doorway 
he  again  hesitated.  Then,  chuckling  grimly,  he  de 
posited  the  child  by  the  bundle  he  had  already  pre 
pared,  and  returning,  took  down  from  the  tent  pole 
the  string  of  scalps  which  went  to  show  how  success 
ful  and  how  savage  a  warrior  he  had  been.  By  the 
light  of  the  stars  he  selected  one  of  these  and  laid  it 
carefully  between  the  two  sleeping  women.  It  was 
the  scalp  of  the  little  girl's  mother.  Then  he  rehung 
the  string  on  the  tent  pole,  and  went  outside  immensely 
pleased  with  his  bit  of  humor. 

It  was  his  good-by  to  the  wild  life.  From  that  time 
on  he  dwelt  in  the  towns,  where  in  a  very  few  years 


THE   LEOPARD  AND   HIS   SPOTS    87 

his  name  became  known  as  standing  for  a  shrewdness  in 
management,  a  keenness  in  seizing  opportunities,  and 
an  inflexibility  of  purpose  rarely  to  be  met  with  among 
his  Anglo-Saxon  competitors.  His  present  objective 
point,  however,  was  the  Spotted  Tail  Agency,  which 
was,  from  the  valley  of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  an  affair 
of  five  days.  Michail  Lafond  did  it  in  four ;  or  at  least 
at  the  end  of  the  fourth  he  was  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  agency  buildings.  By  the  evening  of  the  third  day, 
he  had  transformed  both  himself  and  the  little  girl  into 
an  appearance  of  civilization,  reclothing  her  in  the 
garments  she  had  worn  at  the  time  of  her  capture,  and 
himself  in  a  complete  outfit  which  he  had  collected 
piece  by  piece  on  that  last  night  with  the  savages. 
The  change  was  truly  astonishing. 

His  last  camp  in  the  open  was  pitched  within  sight 
of  the  Spotted  Tail  reservation.  The  darkness  was 
almost  at  hand.  He  had  fed  himself  and  the  child,  had 
put  the  latter  to  rest  under  one  blanket  and  was  just 
about  to  wrap  himself  in  the  other,  when  he  became 
aware  of  a  prairie  schooner  swaying  leisurely  across 
the  plains  in  his  direction.  He  at  once  sat  up  again. 
Every  man  was  to  him  an  object  of  suspicion. 

Not  until  the  wagon  had  halted  within  a  few  feet 
of  him  could  he  distinguish  the  occupant.  Then  he 
perceived  that  the  latter  was  a  gentle-faced,  silver- 
haired  individual  of  mild  aspect,  dressed  decently  but 
strangely,  and  possessed  of  introspective  blue  eyes, 
which  he  turned  dreamily  on  Lafond. 

"  May  I  camp  here  ?  "  he  inquired   deprecatingly. 

The  half-breed  considered. 

"  I  s'pose  so,"  he  said  without  enthusiasm. 

The  old  man  descended  and  uncoupled  his  two  ani- 


88  THE  WESTERNERS 

mals.  After  he  had  picketed  them,  he  returned,  and, 
extracting  from  the  wagon  body  the  materials  for  a 
meal,  he  proceeded  to  make  himself  at  home  over  La- 
fond's  fire. 

"  I  never  did  like  to  camp  alone,"  he  confided  to 
the  latter. 

Lafond  watched  him  intently.  No  further  words 
were  exchanged  until  the  stranger  had  finished  his 
supper  and  had  restored  his  kit  to  the  wagon.  Then 
the  younger  man  offered  the  hospitality  of  the  plains. 

"  Yo'  smok'  ?  "  he  inquired,  tendering  his  tobacco. 

"  Thank  you,  no,"  replied  the  old  man  with  a  tone 
of  breeding  which  Lafond  felt  but  could  not  define. 

The  half-breed  could  not  make  out  the  newcomer, 
and  the  conversation  failed  to  enlighten  him.  That 
was  an  epoch  when  all  the  world  turned  to  the  West ; 
but  it  was  a  practical  world.  There  one  might  in  time 
meet  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  from  the  English 
lord  to  the  turbulent  Fenian ;  from  the  New  York  ex 
quisite  fallen  on  hard  times  to  the  "  bad  man  "  who  had 
never  been  east  of  the  Mississippi.  One  never  be 
trayed  surprise  at  anything  one  might  bring  ashore 
from  this  flotsam  and  jetsam  of  the  human  race.  But 
all  these  odds  and  ends  were  at  least  made  of  tough 
material,  strong  enough  to  run  wherever  a  rapid  cur 
rent  might  dash  them,  capable  of  supporting  hard 
knocks  against  one  another  or  the  obstructions  in  the 
way ;  while  this  placid  old  man  seemed  to  Lafond  liket 
a  crystal  vessel,  of  rare  quality,  perhaps,  but  none  the 
less  fragile.  At  the  last  he  asked  blurtly,  "  What  do 
you  here  ?  " 

The  old  man  fell  silent  for  a  minute  or  two  and 
gazed  into  the  coals  of  the  dying  fire. 


THE   LEOPARD   AND   HIS   SPOTS    89 

"  My  name  is  Durand,"  he  said  at  last,  with  an  in 
finitude  of  sorrow  in  the  tones  of  his  voice.  "  I  am 
an  entomologist.  I  am  here  to  get  specimens — butter 
flies  ;  but  it  is  not  here  that  I  belong.  My  place  is  else 
where,  and  that  I  know.  But  it  is  not  in  my  country, 

and "  he  broke  off.  Lafond  looked  on  curiously, 

for  the  dreamy  haze  had  faded  from  the  speaker's  eyes. 
"  My  friend,"  Durand  went  on,  "  there  are  times  when 
one  cares  not  to  see  the  face  of  man  except  in  the 
bosom  of  the  great  nature.  I  do  not  know  that  you 
understand  that.  It  is  ivith  the  bitterness  of  a  wrong 
that  such  knowledge  comes,  and  with  it  comes  the 
hate  of  cities  and  of  the  things  men  do.  Some  men 
have  had  their  will  of  me,  and  I  am  come  to  the  wilder 
ness.  They  called  it  revenge  to  drive  me  here." 

"  Revenge  !  But  you  still  live !  "  repeated  Lafond 
in  wonder. 

"  And  is  it  that  you  think  the  taking  of  life  is  re 
venge  ?  "  cried  Durand,  with  sudden  energy.  "  They 
who  take  their  revenge  in  killing  are  actually  the 
merciful  ones,  and  they  cheat  no  one  but  themselves." 

"  Yes  ?  "  asked  Lafond,  his  soul  in  the  question. 

The  other  turned  in  surprise  at  his  companion's 
vehemence.  He  saw  a  stolid,  dark-skinned  man  gazing 
impassively  into  the  fire. 

"  They  are  fools,"  went  on  Durand  bitterly,  after  a 
moment ;  "  just  fools.  These  others  were  of  more  in 
genuity;  they  knew  what  would  hurt,  what  would 
avenge  them  better  than  the  killing." 

"  I  do  not  understand,"  said  the  half-breed,  feeling 
his  way  slowly,  for  the  fear  of  damming  this  flow  of 
confidence.  He  looked  away,  for  his  eye  glowed, 
though  his  voice  was  steady.  "  Wat  is  it  ?  If  one  kills, 
if  one  takes  that  life,  w'at  is  worse?  " 


go  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Worse,  worse?  "  cried  Durand,  flinging  his  hands 
impotently  upward.  "  A  thousand  things  !  "  He  sud 
denly  became  calm,  and  turned  to  Lafond  with  impres 
sive  forefinger.  "  Listen,  my  friend.  Life  is  a  little 
thing.  Anyone  can  take  it  who  has  a  gun,  or  a  knife, 
or  even  a  stone.  But  the  true  revenge  is  in  finding  out 
what  it  is  that  each  man  prizes  the  most,  and  then 
taking  it  from  him.  And  that  requires  power !  power ! 
power ! 

"  Few  there  are  who  have  not  something  they  prize 
more  than  life,"  he  added  gloomily.  The  fire  died 
from  his  eye.  He  became  once  again  the  timid  old  but 
terfly  hunter,  pushing  blindly  out  into  the  wilderness, 
wondering  at  himself  for  thus  exposing  an  old  wound 
to  a  chance  passer;  and  yet  perhaps  feeling  in  some 
dim  fashion — so  inscrutable  are  the  instincts  of  these 
half-childish  natures — that  in  so  doing  he  was  following 
for  a  moment  the  lines  of  greater  destinies  than  his 
own. 

And  certainly,  long  after  the  dipper  had  swung  be 
low  the  pole  star,  Lafond  sat  staring  into  the  ashes  of 
the  fire,  just  as  four  days  since  he  had  stared  into  the 
ashes  of  a  brave  and  chivalrous  life.  In  his  history 
there  were  the  two  crucial  hours — one  after  the  great 
est  battle  of  the  plains ;  the  other  after  a  dozen  sen 
tences  exchanged  with  a  half-crazy  old  entomologist. 
From  the  potent  reflections  induced  by  these  oneHhun- 
dred  and  twenty  minutes  it  resulted  that  Michaiil  La- 
fond  became  civilized  and  a  seeker  for  wealth  in  the 
development  of  the  young  country.  In  wealth  he  saw 
power ;  in  power  the  ability  to  give  or  take  away. 

The  depriving  each  man  of  that  which  he  prizes  the 
most ! 


XIII 

THE   DISSOLVING   VIEW 

WHILE  things  have  gone  on,  we  have  con 
ducted  our  business  and  returned  each  even 
ing  to  our  armchairs  by  the  fire.  There  we 
have  sat  at  ease  and  reviewed  the  world.  Events  have 
come  to  pass.  Diplomats  have  quarrelled  gravely  over 
the  wording  of  a  document.  From  our  evening  papers 
we  have  gathered  a  languid  interest  in  the  controversy. 
Six  months  later  we  pick  up  the  paper  and  find  that 
the  dispute  is  still  going  on.  A  German  and  an  Eng 
lishman  play  a  game  of  chess  over  the  cable.  This 
too  is  reported  in  our  journal,  and  we  follow  its  prog 
ress  with  attention  through  the  weeks  of  its  duration. 
Somebody  agitates  the  establishment  of  a  new  industry 
in  our  native  town.  It  will  raise  the  value  of  our  real 
estate,  so  we  attend  meetings  for  some  months  and 
talk  about  it,  after  which  the  industry  is  assured.  Two 
years  later  it  is  in  operation  and  we  congratulate  our 
selves.  Friends  of  our  younger  days  marry ;  and  be 
fore  we  know  it  their  houses  are  noisy  with  the  shout 
ings  of  children.  Leisurely  we  grow  older.  Our  ideas 
become  fixed,  often  by  the  most  trivial  of  circum 
stances.  Africa  means  tangled  forest ;  India,  a  jungle ; 
Siberia,  broad  snow  plains  ;  all  South  America,  a  drip 
ping  stillness  of  tropical  verdure ;  simply  because 
somewhere,  some  time,  a  book  or  paper,  the  woodcut 
of  a  child's  lesson,  has  so  generalized  them  for  us. 

01 


92  THE   WESTERNERS 

Against  these  preconceived  notions  the  events  we  read 
about  are  cast. 

In  very  much  this  way  the  constant  facts  of  the 
West  have  been  to  us  the  Indian  and  the  buffalo.  Be 
fore  our  eyes  the  Master  Showman  has  held  insistently 
this  picture.  Against  the  background  of  the  occidental 
hills  or  the  flat  reach  of  the  grass-nodding  prairies  has 
posed  in  solemn  gravity  the  naked  warrior,  leaning 
from  his  pony  upon  his  feather-bedecked  lance ;  or,  in 
the  choking  dust  of  its  own  progression,  has  lumbered 
heavily  the  buffalo  myriad.  These  have  seemed  per 
manent — the  man  and  the  beast. 

Then,  before  our  protesting  conservatism,  the  scene 
has  dissolved  in  a  mist  of  strange  shapes  and  violent 
deeds,  only  to  steady  a  moment  later  into  a  new  picture. 
The  mounted  figure  has  disappeared,  and  in  his  place, 
against  the  glow  of  sunset,  the  sturdy  form  of  the  hus 
bandman  grasps  the  shaft  of  his  plough,  gazing  past 
the  tired  horses,  and  brooding  the  slow  thoughts  of 
his  calling.  The  last  rays  catch  the  sheen  of  grain — • 
a  sea  of  it — and  shimmer  lightly  until  they  lose  them 
selves  in  contrast  with  the  square  of  ruddy  light  that 
marks  the  windows  of  a  farmhouse. 

This  is  the  new  West.  We  rub  our  eyes  and  wonder. 
The  diplomats  still  squabble ;  the  chess  game  dawdles 
its  languid  way ;  the  factory  is  getting  ready  to  pay  its 
first  dividend ;  our  friends'  children  are  about  to  enter 
the  high  school.  Everything  has  developed  along  the 
usual  lines  of  growth,  and  yet  this  greater  change  has 
come  about  in  a  night.  We  turn  back  the  files  of  our 
paper,  and  find  that  it  has  occupied  in  the  world's  his 
tory  just  fifteen  years !  In  that  little  space  of  time  the 
institutions  of  untold  ages  have  been  overthrown  and 
new  ones  substituted  for  them. 


THE   DISSOLVING   VIEW          93 

Deadwood  was  founded  in  1876.  In  1890  Sitting 
Bull  and  his  tribe  were  utterly  destroyed  in  the  mid 
winter  fight  at  Wounded  Knee.  Between  those  dates, 
the  Dakotas  have  manufactured  at  home  an  article  of 
quite  adequate  civilization. 

To  be  sure,  the  product  is  perhaps  a  little  crude. 
Although  enormous  grain  fields  attest  indubitably 
that  the  farmer  has  tamed  the  soil,  equally  enormous 
Indian  reservations  as  indubitably  dispute  too  sweep 
ing  an  assertion  of  it.  Electric  railways  may  be  in 
stanced  in  some  towns.  The  sprightly  six-shooter  is 
in  others  the  quickest  road  to  the  longest  journey. 
Hot  Springs  has  a  modern  hotel  and  an  improved  bar ; 
a  scant  thirty  miles  north  is  the  unsheriffed  log-mining 
camp  where  the  "  bad  man  "  terrorizes  in  all  his  glory. 

These  things  are  true,  but  they  count  for  little. 
The  great  facts  remain,  and  they  are  these:  a  cow 
boy  named  Tenney  tried  to  lasso  the  last  buffalo  some 
years  since  and  got  himself  yanked  over  several  ir 
regular  miles  of  country ;  the  Sioux  are  herded  nicely 
on  their  reservations  and  shoot  at  nickels  with  bows 
and  arrows  for  the  amusement  of  passing  tourists. 
The  old  frontier  conditions  have  gone.  If  you  want 
trouble,  you  must  go  out  to  look  for  it ;  it  no  longer 
comes  to  you  unsought.  In  a  word  the  broad  sea  of 
the  wilderness  has  shrunken  to  bayous  and  bays  sur 
rounded  and  intersected  by  dried  areas  fit  for  the  culti-  ; 
vation  of  paper  collars  and  tenderfeet.  The  frontier 
still  exists,  but  exists  in  its  isolation  only  because  it  is 
not  as  commercially  desirable  as  the  rest. 

This  is  true  of  the  country  at  large.  It  is  also  true 
of  Pah-sap-pah,  the  Black  Hills.  Already  a  railroad 
has  pushed  its  way  up  the  main  valley.  The  folders 
show  a  map  with  the  usual  blood-red  artery  of  mathe- 


94  THE   WESTERNERS 

matical  straightness,  passing  through  myriads  of  small- 
type  towns,  clinging  desperately  by  their  noses  to  the 
blessings  of  commerce,  and  sundry  dignified,  large-type 
cities,  standing  more  aloof  on  their  own  merits.  It  all 
looks  imposing  enough  on  paper;  but  in  reality  the 
line  does  little  more  than  keep  itself  warm  in  the  nar 
row  valley  of  its  route.  On  closer  inspection  the  myri 
ads  of  towns  disappear.  Minnekahta  is  a  station  in  the 
midst  of  a  vast  plain,  Pringles  a  sawmill,  Stony  Point 
just  nothing  at  all.  For  the  Black  Hills  are  great  of 
extent,  and  one  county  of  the  Dakotas  could  swallow 
an  eastern  State. 

All  this,  from  border  warfare  to  comparative  order 
— say  from  Canute  to  Elizabeth — not  in  a  thousand 
years,  but  in  the  brief  age  of  a  man-child  growing  out 
from  his  kindergarten  into  his  college ! 

To  one  who  has  lived  with  the  country,  the  process 
has  been  an  education  more  thorough  than  that  usually 
vouchsafed  men.  It  has  lacked  in  the  graces  and  ac 
complishments,  perhaps,  but  it  has  brought  to  the  high 
est  pitch  the  two  qualities  of  self-reliance  and  of  power 
of  insight  into  men's  characters.  Whatever  blunders 
a  frontiersman  may  commit  when  visiting  his  neighbor 
cities  in  the  East,  they  are  never  the  bashful  blunders 
of  a  countryman.  Bunco  men  can  clean  him  out  in  a 
gambling  joint,  but  who  ever  heard  of  their  selling 
him  a  gold  brick  ?  He  has  lived  through  all  this  hun 
dreds  of  years  ago,  when  Wild  Bill  was  killed  at  Dead- 
wood,  or  perhaps  a  century  or  so  later,  when,  the  year 
following,  Alfred  took  the  Caldwells  to  the  Hills  and 
was  so  nearly  rushed  by  the  Sioux.  His  life  has  been 
an  epitome.  He  has  met  most  conditions  at  one  time 
or  another,  and  is  no  longer  afraid  of  them. 


THE   DISSOLVING   VIEW          95 

In  a  tale  dealing  with  this  period  of  the  dissolving 
view — when  in  changing  from  one  slide  of  the  lantern 
to  the  other  the  Master  Showman  has  permitted  us  a 
little  glimpse  of  hurrying,  heroic  figures  and  dazzled  us 
with  the  clouds  of  great  deeds  swiftly  done — the  teller 
must  adopt  one  of  two  methods.  He  must  either  gen 
eralize,  or  be  content  to  spend  his  space  on  single 
episodes.  In  that  period,  every  day  was  a  book.  Men 
counted  as  nothing  experiences  filled  with  an  excite 
ment  or  a  pathos  or  a  beauty  intense  enough  to  ren 
der  significant  the  whole  life  of  a  quiet  New  Englander. 
Acts  were  many,  and  trod  close  on  one  another's  heels, 
yet  to  each  act  there  was  a  sequence  of  motive,  of  de 
sire,  of  logical  effect,  as  well  capable  of  being  sought 
out  and  described  as  though  they  were  not  entangled 
and  confused  in  the  rush  of  the  moments.  The  story 
teller  could  find  his  task  in  the  dissection  of  these,  and 
the  task  would  be  interesting.  But  to  one  who  is  con 
cerned,  not  with  a  period,  but  a  life,  this  is  impossible. 

The  fifteen  years  saw  a  marked  change  in  the  fort 
unes  of  the  half-breed  known  as  Michail  Lafond. 
During  all  that  time  he  had  led  an  apparently  honest 
and  law-abiding  life.  No  man  could  say  that  he  had 
been  cheated  by  him  or  that  he  had  been  favored ;  but 
one  and  all  with  whom  the  half-breed  had  come  into 
contact  could  speak  with  admiration  and  fear  of  the 
latter's  power  of  seizing  the  best  of  the  main  chance. 
He  had  left  the  child  at  the  Spotted  Tail  reservation, 
giving  her  name  as  Molly  Lafond  and  making  arrange 
ments  for  her  maintenance.  He  turned  some  gold 
claims  to  advantage,  but  abandoned  that  sort  of  thing 
as  too  uncertain.  He  participated  mildly  in  the  pros 
perity  of  several  of  the  mushroom  towns  of  the  period, 


96  THE  WESTERNERS 

but  soon  drew  out  of  booms  as  possessing  also  too 
much  of  the  element  of  luck. 

He  did  the  hundreds  of  other  things  to  which  men 
in  a  new  country  can  always  turn  their  hands,  and  in 
each  he  made  his  profit ;  but  in  each  he  found  some 
thing  lacking  to  the  elaborate  scheme  of  power  he  had 
builded  one  evening  before  a  prairie  camp  fire.  Finally 
he  hit  upon  whisky  and  dance  halls  and  there  he 
stayed.  Abandoning  all  other  enterprises,  he  gave  his 
individual  attention  to  these  two,  for  he  found  in  them 
not  only  the  surest  and  largest  monetary  returns,  but 
the  certain  popularity  which  men  accord  to  those  who 
minister  to  their  pleasures.  From  Deadwood  to  Edge- 
mont  there  gradually  grew  up  a  string  of  saloons  bear 
ing  the  name  of  Lafond.  Some  of  them  were  paying, 
some  on  the  point  of  paying,  some  merely  lying  latent 
for  the  boom  which  Lafond  thought  to  see  in  the  near 
future.  For,  as  of  old,  he  delighted  in  discounting  the 
future.  He  liked  long  shots  in  his  investments. 

Over  each  of  these  various  establishments  their 
owner  was  in  the  habit  of  placing  a  man  chosen  ac 
cording  to  the  needs  of  the  place,  and  this  man  fell 
more  or  less  under  Lafond's  personal  supervision  ac 
cording  as  the  exigencies  of  the  case  seemed  to  de 
mand  it.  The  half-breed's  policy  was  to  keep  in  actual 
touch  with  the  most  prosperous,  and  to  give  personal 
effort  to  the  most  promising.  The  others  could  take 
care  of  themselves  until  their  time  came.  So  at  Mul 
berry  Gulch,  where  the  camp  consisted  only  of  a  num 
ber  of  grub  stakers,  he  owned  a  little  log  cabin  which 
he  had  never  seen.  At  Deadwood,  an  old  and  prosper 
ous  camp,  he  was  proprietor  of  a  begilded  and  be- 
rnirrored  splendor  so  well  established  that  it  needed 


THE  DISSOLVING   VIEW          97 

only  a  periodical  supervising  visit  to  keep  it  running 
smoothly.  At  Copper  Creek  was  also  nothing  but  a 
log-cabin  saloon;  but  Copper  Creek  bade  fair  to 
amount  to  something.  Perhaps  the  spirit  of  the  three 
kinds  was  best  indicated  by  the  signs  over  their  count 
ers.  Mulberry  Gulch  exhibited  a  rudely  lettered  de 
vice  informing  the  public,  "  Pies,  Whisky  and  Pistols 
for  Sail  Here."  Deadwood  thirsty  ones  learned  that 
they  should  "  Ask  for  Our  1860  Old  Crow;  the  Finest 
on  Earth."  Copper  Creek  sententiously  remarked: 
"  To  Trust  is  Bust." 

All  this  symbolized  nothing  more  or  less  than  the 
commercial  history  of  a  successful  man  in  the  West.* 
It  meant  nothing  except  that  Lafond  had  the  instinct 
and  the  cleverness,  and  so  was  getting  rich.  More  in 
teresting  than  the  change  of  his  fortune  was  the  change 
of  the  man  himself. 

In  the  old  days  he  had  been  crafty  in  a  subtle  way ; 
but  he  had  been  impulsive,  eager,  excitable,  inclined 
to  jump  at  the  bidding  of  his  intuitions.  Now  his 
character  seemed  to  have  expanded  and  modified.  A 
powder  explosion  had  slightly  bent  his  straight  figure, 
halted  his  gait,  and  seamed  his  face  with  powder  marks.  I 
To  hide  these  last,  he  wore  a  beard.  The  effect  was 
one  of  quiet  responsibility,  and  a  certain  geniality, 
though  a  keen  observer  might  have  hesitated  to  call 
this  geniality  kindly. 

His  manner  was  very  quiet.  He  never  reproved  his 
subordinates  or  addressed  a  hasty  word  to  anyone, 
unless  he  became  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  culprit's 
incapacity.  Then  his  anger  was  at  white  heat.  He 
could  forgive  deliberate  attempts  to  evade  his  com 
mands  or  conscious  efforts  at  rascality,  for  with  them 


98  THE  WESTERNERS 

he  could  cope ;  but  mistakes  he  never  condoned.  An 
occasional  slight  inversion  of  the  natural  order  of  words 
or  phrases  was  all  that  remained  to  him  of  his  old 
accent. 

Altogether  he  was  a  personage  whose  public  posi 
tion  was  unexceptionable.  In  the  West  no  man  has  a 
past,  unless  that  past  is  personified  and  carries  a  rebuk 
ing  six-shooter.  He  had  wealth,  popularity,  an  ac 
quaintance  as  wide  as  the  Hills  themselves.  All  that 
meant  power,  especially  when  combined  with  a  shrewd 
ability  to  read  men's  characters. 

But  of  the  old  order  one  thing  remained — his  re 
ligion.  In  the  storm  and  stress  of  a  period  hot  with 
events,  his  life  work  was  conceived  and  laid  out.  The 
lines  of  its  plan  had  been  seared  into  his  soul  by  crime. 
He  no  longer  felt  the  smart,  but  the  cicatrix  was  there, 
and  he  daily  bowed  to  its  symbolism,  often  without  a 
thought  of  what  it  really  meant.  His  was  like  the 
future  of  a  boy  who  has  entered  the  army ;  his  line  of 
conduct  was  all  prearranged,  and  his  independence  of 
it  never  occurred  to  him.  There  was  no  glowering 
hate  in  this ;  only  a  certain  sense  of  inevitability.  In 
other  words,  it  was  his  religion. 

Certain  things  were  to  be  done.  First  of  all  he  must 
become  wealthy.  Very  well ;  wealthy  he  became.  He 
must  become  popular.  Agreed ;  he  cultivated  his  fel 
low  men.  He  must  know  how  to  read  character  and 
i  to  hit  upon  weaknesses.  Exactly ;  he  bent  his  clever 
ness  to  the  task.  There  was  a  larger  end  to  which  these 
three  were  but  the  means ;  but  that  would  come  later. 
Just  now  life  meant  quiet,  earnest  compassing  of  the 
three  things.  Until  they  were  quite  within  his  grasp, 
he  could  afford  to  shut  into  the  background  what  their 


THE   DISSOLVING   VIEW          99 

ultimate  signification  should  be.  Lafond  lived  tran 
quilly  a  perfectly  moral  existence. 

But  without  his  volition  the  great  idea  crystallized 
into  some  sort  of  shape.  It  was  always  in  the  back 
ground,  to  be  sure ;  but,  after  all,  a  background  fills 
the  picture.  That  which  men  hold  to  be  most  dear!  The 
years  had  taught  him  what  it  was,  without  his  actually 
demanding  it  of  them.  Men  hold  most  dear  property, 
reputation,  honor  among  their  fellow  men,  and  the  love 
of  women.  Women  hold  most  dear  virtue  and  a  good 
name. 

About  fifteen  years  after  he  had  quitted  the  Indians, 
Lafond  suddenly  realized  that  he  had  gained  the  power 
and  knew  how  to  use  it.  Quite  dispassionately  he 
looked  ahead  to  the  next  step. 

There  were  Jim  Buckley,  Billy  Knapp,  Alfred  and 
the  doctor's  family.  The  latter  now  included  only  the 
girl,  whom  Lafond  had  himself  caused  to  be  raised  to 
young  womanhood.  Of  the  others,  Jim  Buckley  and 
Alfred  had  long  since  left  the  country — Alfred  for 
Arizona,  where  he  had  gone  into  cow  punching;  Buck 
ley  for  Montana  and  Idaho,  in  whose  mountains  he  was 
supposed  to  be  prospecting.  These  two,  then,  were 
out  of  the  way  for  the  present.  They  would  never  be 
difficult  to  find,  and  in  comparison  with  Billy  they  had 
held  quite  a  secondary  place  at  the  time  of  the  half- 
breed's  molten  state,  before  he  had  cooled  into  the 
fixed  forms  of  his  conduct  of  life. 

The  reason  for  this  throws  not  a  little  light  on  La- 
fond's  character.  The  feminine  streak  in  him  hated 
Billy  Knapp  personally,  simply  because  that  individual 
was  loud  in  talk,  great  in  size,  and  blustering  in  man 
ner.  He  could  restrain  his  resentment  against  the 


loo  THE   WESTERNERS 

bashful  Alfred  or  the  imperturbable  Jim ;  but  not  that 
against  a  man  who  seemed  always,  to  the  high  strung 
half-breed,  the  potential  bully.  He  would  have  fol 
lowed  Billy  Knapp  to  China,  if  necessary. 

But  it  so  happened  that  that  individual,  after  a 
checkered  career,  had  settled  down  in  the  village  or 
camp  of  Copper  Creek,  not  forty  miles  from  Lafond's 
headquarters  at  Rapid.  Billy's  vicissitudes  were  those 
of  many  of  his  class.  Trained  in  the  liberal  give  and 
take  policy  of  the  early  frontier  times,  he  found  him 
self,  on  their  ebb,  stranded  high  and  dry  without  ap 
propriate  means  of  progression.  Billy  was  used  to 
relying  on  his  plainscraft,  his  courage,  his  skill  with 
firearms,  and  his  personal  strength.  Such  qualities  as 
economy,  accuracy  of  estimate,  frugality,  and  patience 
in  the  overcoming  of  abstractions  would  have  been,  to 
his  early  life,  practically  useless.  He  came  to  be  a  big- 
hearted,  generous  fellow,  without  the  slightest  idea  of 
the  value  of  money  or  the  burden  of  debt.  He  was  apt 
to  be  seized  by  many  whims,  which  he  was  wont  to 
gratify  on  the  spot. 

"  Know  Billy  Knapp?  "  ruminated  an  old  plainsman 
once.  "  Billy  Knapp  ?  Seems  to  me  I  do ;  he's  the 
feller  that  would  buy  the  co't  house  yonder  if  he  could 
get  trusted  for  it,  ain't  he?  " 

It  described  him.  And  as  in  the  old  days  his  prestige 
had  depended  on  individual  prowess  of  a  rather  spec 
tacular  order,  it  came  about  that  Billy  was  just  a  little 
fond  of  strutting.  He  liked  to  play  the  patron,  he  liked 
to  distribute  favors,  to  treat  to  drinks,  to  stand  as  the 
representative  of  great  unseen  forces,  whether  of  mili 
tary  power  in  the  old  days,  or  of  extensive  capital  in 
*hese  latter. 


THE  DISSOLVING   VIEW         101 

For  a  great  many  years  this  vanity  had  remained 
ungratified.  Billy  had  not  the  virtues  to  succeed  in 
the  rising  commercialism  of  the  new  West.  After  the 
last  great  campaign  against  the  Sioux,  he  found  his 
usual  occupations  almost  wiped  from  the  slate.  The 
plains  were  as  safe  as  Illinois.  He  picked  up  a  liveli 
hood  still,  mainly  by  reason  of  his  wonderful  gift  of 
persuasion,  for  Billy  could  talk  black  white,  if  only  the 
particular  shade  and  the  discussion  were  situated  in 
the  West.  He  drove  stage,  broke  horses,  bossed  cat 
tle  outfits,  and  finally  drifted  into  prospecting. 

There  his  chance  came.  By  a  lucky  stroke  of  trad 
ing  he  became  possess  d  of  some  really  good  quartz 
claims  and  a  small  sum  of  ready  cash.  Two  weeks 
later  he  was  in  Chicago.  It  was  his  first  trip  east  of 
the  Mississippi,  but  he  knew  just  what  he  wanted,  and 
he  got  it.  Three  days  of  Billy's  golden  oratory  led  to 
the  purchase  by  an  Eastern  syndicate  of  an  option  on 
his  group  of  claims,  and  the  understanding  that  toward 
the  middle  of  the  following  summer  a  committee  of 
owners  should  visit  the  property  in  order  to  discuss 
ways  and  means  of  developing  the  various  quartz  leads. 

The  delighted  Billy  returned  to  Copper  Creek. 
There  at  last  he  found  himself  the  important  figure 
he  had  always  dreamed  of  being.  He  posed  to  himself 
and  to  everybody  else.  The  camp  gradually  filled,  and 
the  claims  round  about  were  snapped  up  greedily. 

Lafond  had  easily  kept  himself  informed  of  all  this. 
It  was  sufficiently  notorious.  Now  when  he  came  to 
a  realization  that  the  next  move  in  his  game  of  life  was 
due  and  that  he  should  put  to  its  appointed  use  the 
power  he  had  so  long  amassed,  he  decided  to  study 
Billy  Knapp  in  order  to  see  which  of  the  four — prop- 


102  THE   WESTERNERS 

erty,  reputation,  honor  or  love — that  volatile  individ 
ual  held  most  dear.  He  could  make  a  shrewd  guess, 
but  he  wanted  to  be  on  the  ground.  And  as  he  thought 
about  it,  there  came  to  him  a  great  wave  of  enthusiasm 
and  eagerness  over  this  game  he  was  about  to  play ;  a 
delight  in  the  magnitude  of  the  stakes  and  the  power 
of  the  instruments  employed,  an  intellectual  glorying 
quite  different  and  separated  from  his  personal  feelings 
in  the  matter,  or  that  religious  obligation  of  it  which 
lay  at  the  back  of  his  soul. 


XIV 

INTO   THE   SHADOW   OF   THE    HILLS 

THE  first  thing  Michaiil  Lafond  did  in  pursuance 
of  his  new  determination  was  to  visit  the  Spot 
ted  Tail  reservation  in  order  to  reclaim  the  girl 
henceforth  to  be  known  as  Molly  Lafond. 

No  one  knows  why  he  had  followed  out  his  first 
impulse  to  preserve  her  life  and  bring  her  up.  After 
a  time,  however,  she  came  to  symbolize,  in  his  half- 
mystical  perception  of  such  things,  the  first  cause  of 
all  that  had  happened.  Personally  he  liked  her  be 
cause  she  was  such  a  free,  independent,  fiery  little 
creature.  He  liked  to  talk  to  her  and  be  ordered  about 
by  her.  He  liked  also  to  watch  the  graceful,  decisive 
movements  of  her  lithe  young  body  and  the  sparkle 
of  her  hair.  She  looked  a  good  deal  like  her  mother. 

He  even  listened  with  what  would  appear  to  be  close 
sympathy  to  her  complaints  of  the  agent's  wife  and 
the  life  to  be  led  at  a  reservation.  She  and  the  agent's 
wife  never  did  get  on  well.  The  latter  was  a  stern, 
commonplace,  fat  woman  without  sympathy.  And 
the  life !  There  were  no  men,  nothing  but  Indians. 
All  you  could  do  was  to  read  all  day  and  all  the  even 
ing,  or  ride  straight  out  in  any  given  direction  that  led 
nowhere.  Michail  Lafond,  in  his  semi-annual  visits, 
was  inclined  to  agree  with  her  and  even  to  pity  her  a 
little.  His  personal  likings  were  on  the  surface,  and 
had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  deeps  of  his 
nature. 


104  THE   WESTERNERS 

Just  as  the  surest  way  of  satisfying  his  thirst  for 
revenge  upon  Billy  Knapp  was  to  deprive  the  man 
of  his  reputation  and  his  property,  so  he  had  deter 
mined  to  make  of  Molly  a  dance-hall  girl,  like  Colorado 
Jenny.  It  would  deprive  her  of  virtue  and  good  name, 
the  things  a  woman  holds  most  dear.  He  also  felt 
keenly,  in  his  instinctive  dramatic  sense,  the  fitness  of 
throwing  this  fine-fibred  daughter  of  a  nobler  race  to 
the  hungry  passions,  of  watching  her  reversion  little 
by  little  to  the  brute  type;  but  a  formulation  of  it 
never  came  to  the  surface  of  his  mind.  And  yet,  I 
must  repeat,  there  was  in  one  sense  nothing  personal 
in  this.  Lafond  felt  no  aversion  to  the  girl  herself. 
He  took  no  pleasure  in  the  thought  of  cursing  her  or 
beating  her,  as  might  a  man  seeking  a  hotter  revenge. 
It  was  just  cold,  malignant,  calculating  hate  of  some 
thing  in  opposition  to  him,  which  she  symbolized. 

This  intellectual  form  of  hatred  is  a  peculiar  char 
acteristic  of  half-breeds. 

When  Lafond  suggested  to  Molly  that  she  should 
leave  the  agency  and  take  up  her  residence  with  him 
in  Copper  Creek,  she  assented  very  gladly,  for  she  felt 
her  present  life  insupportable.  The  day  before,  she  and 
Mrs.  Sweeney,  the  agent's  wife,  had  come  into  violent 
collision. 

"  Where  was  you  yesterday  afternoon  ? "  Mrs. 
Sweeney  had  asked,  as  Molly  came  into  the  kitchen. 

It  was  before  breakfast,  so  Molly  shrugged  an  im 
patient  shoulder. 

"  Riding,"  she  replied  briefly. 

"  Riding  where  ?  "  insisted  Mrs.  Sweeney  with  heavy 
persistency. 

"  Over  west." 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   HILLS    105 

"See  anybody?" 

"No." 

"Sure?" 

"  Yes." 

The  old  lady  wound  her  hands  in  her  apron  and 
fixed  her  charge  severely  with  her  eye. 

"  Strange  how  blind  some  folks  is,"  she  went  on 
after  a  moment.  "  Now,  I  was  indoors  washing  an'  I 
see  that  young  sergeant  over  there  scoutin'  'round." 

The  words  were  simple  ;  the  tone  was  not. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  cried  Molly  sharply.  "  Do 
you  mean  to  say  I  was  riding  with  him  ?  " 

Mrs.  Sweeney  wagged  her  head  with  aggravating 
sagacity. 

"  Nobody  needn't  put  on  no  shoe  that  don't  fit  'em," 
she  said,  and  sighed  with  the  air  of  a  martyr  who  has 
discovered  all  and  is  disappointed. 

Molly  knew  that  her  question  had  been  justified  by 
the  woman's  insinuation,  that  she  had  put  on  no  shoe, 
and  that  if  there  were  a  martyr  in  the  room  it  was  not 
the  agent's  wife.  Thereupon  she  said  things  excitedly. 
The  agent's  wrife  assumed  an  injured  placidity,  than 
which  there  is  nothing  more  aggravating.  Finally 
Molly  flounced  out  of  the  room. 

The  agent's  wife,  being  utterly  in  the  wrong,  sulked 
after  the  manner  of  women  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  and 
had  to  be  sued  for  forgiveness. 

And  yet  next  day,  when  Molly  and  the  half-breed 
drove  away,  Mrs.  Sweeney  remembered  that  the  girl 
had  been  with  them  nearly  fifteen  years,  and  wept; 
and  the  agent  booted  a  trespassing  Indian  from  his 
office  with  unwonted  energy. 

Molly,  on  the  other  hand,  was  as  happy  as  a  lark. 


io6  THE   WESTERNERS 

Every  man  knows  the  thrill  of  anticipation  when  he 
stows  the  gun  case  under  the  seat  and  induces  the 
pointer  to  curl  up  in  the  straw,  just  as  every  woman 
knows  the  delight  of  an  entrance  to  a  room  which  her 
presence  brightens  more  than  any  other's.  Molly  ex 
perienced  the  same  thrill,  the  same  delight.  She  had 
the  instincts  of  the  coquette ;  the  confidence  of  inex 
perience  ;  the  false  ideals  of  a  knowledge  drawn  from 
books  and  speculation ;  and  her  heart  had  not  yet 
awakened  her  conscience.  She  looked  forward  to  her 
own  power  over  men,  for  she  was  intelligent,  and 
realized  the  extent  both  of  her  charms  and  of  her 
knowledge.  The  latter  was  not  inextensive,  for  in  her 
reading  she  had  enjoyed  the  overwhelming  advantage 
of  heredity.  Heredity  is  a  little  scheme  by  which,  to 
a  great  extent,  one  recognizes  knowledge,  instead  of 
acquiring  it. 

They  drove  along  for  some  distance  without  speak 
ing.  The  girl  was  too  happy  and  the  half-breed  too 
preoccupied  to  talk. 

"  Mike,"  she  commanded  suddenly  after  a  time, 
"  quit  that  smoking.  I  don't  like  it." 

The  half-breed  hesitated,  narrowing  his  brow,  and 
looking  straight  ahead.  Then  he  silently  knocked  the 
ashes  from  his  pipe  and  slipped  it  into  his  pocket. 
Molly's  eyes  flashed  with  triumphant  amusement.  The 
game  had  begun.  After  a  time  the  sun  sank  into  the 
dark  hills,  and  the  great  shadow  of  Harney  crept  out 
of  them. 

The  wagon  rattled  down  a  short  incline  to  the  broad, 
shallow  bed  of  the  Cheyenne.  Molly  turned  it  aside 
into  a  little  grass  plat. 

"  We'll  camp  here  to-night,"  she  announced. 


THE   SHADOW   OF  THE   HILLS    107 

"  There  is  better  water  two  mile  further,  on  the  trail, 
on  Fall  River,"  said  Lafond,  without  moving. 

"  I  said  we'd  camp  here  !  "  repeated  the  girl  sharply. 

The  half-breed  descended  and  began  to  unharness 
the  horses. 


XV 

IN  WHICH  CHEYENNE   HARRY  LOSES  HIS 
PISTOL 

THE  camp  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  Lafond's 
operations   and    of   the   girl's   anticipated   tri 
umphs,   lay   between   Ragged   Top   and  Tom 
Custer.     It  consisted  of  a  double  row  of  log  cabins 
situated  in  the  V  of  the  deep  ravine.    The  men  gen 
erally  ate  in  the  long  dining-room  of  the  hotel,  worked 
at  prospecting  in  the  hills,  and  spent  their  evenings  in 
the  centrally  situated  Little  Nugget  saloon,  the  prop 
erty  of  Michail  Lafond. 

The  night  of  the  half-breed's  arrival  the  usual  crowd 
was  carrying  on  the  usual  discussions  on  the  usual 
subjects. 

One  fresh  from  the  East  entering  the  building  would 
have  been  struck  first  with  the  strangeness  of  the  room. 
It  was  long  and  low,  and  on  three  sides  dark.  Against 
the  fourth  wall  was  stretched  tightly  a  white  cotton 
sheet,  imitating  plaster,  in  front  of  which  stood  the  bar. 
The  bar  was  polished,  narrow,  with  a  foot  rest  in  front 
and  two  towels  hanging  from  metal  clasps  just  under 
the  projecting  eaves  of  it.  It  had  been  brought  in  sec 
tions,  by  wagon,  at  considerable  expense.  Some  three 
feet  behind  the  bar,  stretched  a  shelf  of  the  same  height, 
towel  covered,  on  which  stood  four  bottles  in  front  of  a 
little  mirror.  The  shelf  was  piled  symmetrically  with 
glasses  of  all  shapes — tumblers,  ponies,  fine-stemmed 
wineglasses — arranged  in  pyramids  and  squares.  They 

108 


HARRY    LOSES   HIS   PISTOL      109 

glittered  in  the  glare  of  the  lamps,  and  the  indirect 
light  from  the  white  sheet.  A  dim  pink  reflection  was 
given  back  by  the  mirror — dim  and  pink  because  the 
glass  was  draped  with  pink  mosquito  bar.  Overhead 
hung  the  sign  which  read,  "  To  Trust  is  Bust." 

Beneath  the  reflector  of  the  largest  lamp  lounged 
the  barkeeper  reading  a  paper.  He  had  spread  the 
paper  on  the  bar,  and,  having  crooked  his  elbows  out 
at  wide  angles  around  its  margin,  was  bending  his  head 
of  straw-colored  hair  close  over  the  print.  He  was 
dressed  in  white  as  to  the  upper  part  of  his  body.  Oc 
casionally  he  read  aloud  in  a  monotone  from  the  paper. 
At  other  times  his  lips  moved  slowly,  shaping  the  in 
visible  words  as  they  took  form  in  his  sluggish  brain. 

"  The  latest  creations  in  ties,"  he  read,  "  are  de 
scribed  by  our  buyer  as  being  natty  effects  in  the  nar 
row  plaids." 

Outside  this  glare  of  light  from  the  white-dressed 
man,  and  the  glittering  pyramids  and  squares  and 
glasses,  and  the  dim  pink  reflections,  and  the  white 
.sheet  imitating  plaster,  the  rest  of  the  room  seemed 
dark  by  contrast.  Near  the  door  and  the  small  front 
window,  glowed  a  red-hot  stove.  Along  the  walls  were 
ranged  chairs.  In  the  chairs  sat  many  men  smoking. 
Above  the  men  a  few  cheap  pictures  were  tacked 
against  the  rough  walls.  One  of  them  represented  an 
abnormally  slim  and  smooth  race  horse  against  a 
background  of  vivid  green.  Another  showed  an 
equally  green  landscape,  throwing  into  relief  a  group 
of  red-coated  men  on  spider-legged  horses,  pursuing  a 
huddle  of  posing  white  hounds.  One  of  the  spider- 
legged  horses  had  fallen,  and  the  rider,  being  projected 
horizontally  forward,  was  suspended  rigidly  in  mid  air, 


no  THE   WESTERNERS 

like  Mohammed's  coffin,  and  with  as  much  apparent 
prospect  of  coming  to  earth.  Still  another  presented 
the  sight  of  an  exceedingly  naked  woman  descending 
from  an  exceedingly  flat  and  marble  couch.  One  foot 
was  on  the  floor,  and  the  other  knee  rested  still  on  the 
flat  and  marble  couch.  It  was  labelled  "  Surprised." 

Three  large  lamps  with  reflectors  illuminated  this 
part  of  the  room.  Then  came  a  strip  of  comparative 
dusk ;  then  another  hanging-lamp  disclosed  a  smooth- 
topped  table,  on  which  was  a  faro  lay-out. 

The  men  in  the  chairs  smoked  industriously  and 
spoke  seldom.  The  air  wras  thick  with  the  smoke  of 
strong  tobacco,  such  as  "  Hand  Made  "  and  "  Lucky 
Strike."  Very  near  the  stove  sprawled  old  Mizzou, 
low-foreheaded,  white-bearded,  talking  always  of 
women  and  the  merits  of  grass-widows  and  school- 
ma'ams. 

"  They  is  nothin'  like  'em!  "  he  asserted  with  ever- 
fresh  emphasis  of  tone.  "  Back  in  Chillicothe,  whar 
th'  hogs  an'  gals  is  co'n-fed,  they  is  shore  bustin'f 
When  one  of  them  critters  comes  'round,  I  feels  jest 
like  raisin'  hell  and  puttin'  a  chunk  under  it !  " 

"  Th'  hell  you  do  !  "  snorted  Cheyenne  Harry,  scowl 
ing  his  handsome  brows,  "  th'  hell  you  do !  Give  us  a 
rest  with  yore  everlasting  females."  He  pulled  his  hat 
over  his  eyes,  and  drew  savagely  on  his  pipe,  his  right 
hand  over  the  bowl,  his  left  clasped  tight  under  his 
armpit. 

Billy  Knapp  was  telling  about  his  mine. 

"  On  that  thar  Buffalo  lode,"  he  said  impressively. 
"  I  got  a  lead  twenty  foot  wide.  Twenty  foot,  I  say ! 
And  it  holds  out;  it  holds  out  a  lot.  It's  great.  I 
says  to  them  Chicago  sharps,  I  says,  *  You  won't  find 


HARRY    LOSES    HIS   PISTOL      111 

sech  a  lead  as  thet  thar  nowhere  else  in  the  Hills,'  and 
by  gravy  I  believe  that's  right !  I  do  for  shore !  An' 
I  says  to  them,  I  says, '  It  only  takes  a  little  sinkin',  an' 
a  little  five  stamp  mill,  t'  put  her  on  a  paying  basis  to 
wunst.  Ain't  no  manner  of  doubt  of  it !  I  tell  you  it's 
a  chance  !  that's  what  it  is ! ' ' 

He  breathed  hard  with  the  enthusiasm  into  which 
his  words  lifted  him.  He  vociferated,  telling  over  and 
over  about  his  twenty  foot  lead.  He  held  his  great 
hand  suspended  in  the  air  through  whole  sentences, 
bringing  it  down  with  a  mighty  slap  as  he  came  to  his 
conclusions.  The  men  about  him  listened  unmoved. 
They  believed  what  he  said,  but  they  had  got  over 
being  excited  at  it.  Jack  Graham,  his  hat  on  his  knees, 
twisted  his  little  moustache  and  smiled  amusedly.  As 
the  scout  appealed  to  him  from  time  to  time,  he  nodded 
silent  assent.  Over  beyond  the  bar  of  dusk,  two  men 
were  staking  small  sums  at  faro.  The  keen-eyed  dealer 
was  monotonously  calling  the  cards.  "  All  ready ;  all 
down  ;  hands  up ;  jack  win ;  queen  lose  !  "  he  drawled. 

In  the  corner  nearest  the  door,  a  youth  of  eighteen 
huddled  on  the  floor  asleep.  Here  and  there  wandered 
an  active  wire-haired  dog,  bigger  than  a  fox  terrier 
and  of  different  color,  but  with  the  terrier's  bright  eyes 
and  alert  movements.  It  was  a  strange  beast,  brown 
and  black  on  the  head,  black  on  the  body,  badger  gray 
on  the  legs,  with  sharp  white  teeth,  over  which  bristled 
gray  whiskers  of  the  stiffness  of  a  hair  brush.  As  it 
passed  the  various  men,  it  eyed  them  closely,  ready  to 
wag  its  stump  of  a  tail  in  friendship,  or  to  circle  warily 
in  avoidance  of  a  kick.  It  was  a  self-reliant  dog,  a  dog 
used  to  taking  care  of  itself.  Men  called  it  Peter, 
without  abbreviation. 


112  THE   WESTERNERS 

Peter  was  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  restlessness.  He 
smelled  everything,  first  with  dainty  sniffs,  then  with 
long,  deep  inhalations.  Thus  he  came  to  know  the 
inner  nature  of  table  legs  and  chairs,  of  men's  boots 
and  of  dark  corners.  Between  investigations  he  would 
stand  in  front  of  the  bar  and  stretch,  sticking  first  one 
hind  leg,  then  the  other,  at  stiff  angles  behind  him,  and 
then,  fore  feet  far  in  front,  pressing  the  chest  of  his 
long  body  nearly  to  the  floor. 

These  things  irritated  Cheyenne  Harry.  He  at 
tempted  to  command  Peter  harshly,  but  Peter  paid  no 
attention. 

"  Off  his  feed,"  observed  Dave  Williams  to  young 
Barker  in  an  undertone. 

"  Yeah,"  agreed  the  latter. 

About  eight  o'clock  Blair  and  the  stage  drew  in 
and  drew  out  again,  after  warming  at  the  red-hot  stove 
a  little  cross  man  who  cursed  the  whole  West — climate, 
scenery,  and  all — with  a  depth  and  heartiness  that  left 
these  loyal  Westerners  gasping.  Billy  Knapp  had  at 
tempted  to  reply,  but  had  not  held  his  own  in  the  inter 
change. 

After  the  stranger  had  gone  out,  the  pristine  calm 
broke  into  a  froth  of  recrimination.  The  room 
shouted.  It  blamed  Billy.  It  cursed  the  stranger.  It 
thought  of  a  dozen  things  that  might  have  been  said 
or  done,  as  is  the  fashion  of  rooms.  Billy  vociferated 
against  the  tourist. 

"  Little  two  by  four  prospec'  hole !  "  he  cried.  "  He 
may  be  all  right  whar  he  comes  from,  which  don't 
rank  high  anyhow,  but  when  he  comes  out  yar  makin' 
any  sech  fool  breaks  as  that,  he  don't  assay  a  cent  a 
fo'  sense!" 


HARRY   LOSES   HIS   PISTOL      113 

"Oh,  hell/'  growled  Cheyenne  Harry.  "  You-all 
make  me  tired !  " 

"  Shake  yore  grouch,  Harry,"  they  advised  good- 
humoredly.  Cheyenne  Harry  was  popular,  fearless 
and  a  good  shot.  He  had  a  little  the  reputation,  in 
some  quarters,  of  being  a  "  bad  man." 

Billy  went  on  with  his  tirade.  The  men  shook  their 
heads.  "  You  wasn't  ace  high,  Billy,"  said  they. 
Billy  insisted,  getting  more  and  more  excited.  They 
looked  down  from  the  calm  of  superior  wisdom.  Their 
anger  vanished  in  Billy's.  He  was  angry  for  the  whole 
crowd. 

"  Moroney  ought  to  have  been  here,"  they  observed 
regretfully.  "  He's  th'  boy !  He'd  have  trimmed  th' 
little  cuss  good.  Can't  get  ahead  of  Moroney  nohow." 

Billy  denied  that  Moroney  could  have  done  better 
than  he,  Billy,  did.  The  men  championed  Moroney's 
cause  with  warmth.  A  new  discussion  arose  out  of 
the  old.  With  a  prodigious  clatter  every  man  drew  up 
his  chair  until  a  circle  was  formed.  Archibald  Mudge, 
alias  Frosty,  the  barkeeper,  leaned  his  head  on  his  fists 
across  the  bar,  trying  to  hear.  The  two  men  at  the 
faro  game  cashed  in  and  quit.  The  faro  dealer,  im 
perturbable,  indifferent,  cat-like,  shuffled  his  cards. 
Around  the  outside  of  the  word-hurling  circle  Peter 
wandered,  sniffing  at  chairs  and  the  boots  of  men. 

Then  on  a  sudden  Molly  and  the  half-breed  arrived; 
to  the  vast  astonishment  of  Copper  Creek,  which  had 
no  women  and  expected  none. 

The  newcomers  appeared  in  the  doorway,  appar 
ently  from  nowhere,  pausing  a  moment  before  enter 
ing  the  saloon.  Molly  leaned  a  hand  on  each  jamb, 
and  calmly  surveyed  the  room.  Lafond  blinked  his 


H4  THE   WESTERNERS 

eyes  at  the  light,  imperturbably  awaiting  the  girl's 
good  pleasure.  After  a  moment  she  stepped  inside, 
and  again  looked  the  apartment  over,  slowly,  search- 
ingly.  She  saw  in  that  long  sweeping  glance  every 
thing  there  was  to  be  seen — the  men  and  their  various 
attitudes,  the  bar,  the  glasses,  the  mirror  draped  with 
mosquito  bar,  the  white  cotton  sheet,  the  lamps,  the 
faro  table,  even  the  three  sporting  pictures  on  the  wall. 

In  that  moment  she  made  up  her  mind  what  to  do. 
Her  heart  was  beating  fast  and  her  color  was  high. 
She  experienced  all  the  sensations  of  a  man  going  into 
battle,  but  not  a  timid  man,  or  one  not  sure.  Rather, 
she  felt  a  new  access  of  force,  a  new  confidence,  a  new 
imperious  power  that  would  bend  conditions  to  suit 
itself.  She  knew  in  a  flash  just  how  to  tame  these  un 
tamed  men. 

Then  she  stepped  swiftly  forward  and  marched  up 
to  the  bar,  against  which  she  leaned  the  broad  of  her 
back,  running  her  arms  along  the  rail  on  either  side 
and  resting  one  heel  against  the  foot  rest.  She  tossed 
her  curls  back,  and  again  looked  coolly  at  the  silent 
men. 

An  observer  might  have  found  it  interesting  to  note 
how  the  different  inmates  of  the  room  took  this  un 
expected  appearance  of  the  First  Woman.  Billy 
Knapp  stared  with  round,  gloating  eyes,  in  which 
a  hundred  possibilities  awoke.  Cheyenne  Harry, 
aroused  from  his  slouching  attitude,  thrust  his  pipe 
into  his  pocket  and  furtively  smoothed  his  moustache. 
Graham  looked  the  newcomer  over  with  cool  inquir 
ing  scrutiny.  Frosty  began  to  polish  a  glass,  finding 
relief  from  his  embarrassment  in  accustomed  and  com 
monplace  occupation.  The  faro  dealer  shufBed  his 


HARRY   LOSES   HIS    PISTOL      115- 

cards,  imperturbable,  indifferent,  cat-like.  Peter  sat 
upright  on  his  haunches,  sniffing  daintily,  first  in  the 
girl's  direction,  then  in  the  man's,  watching,  bright- 
eyed  and  alert.  Peter  was  the  only  being  in  the  place 
who  noticed  the  girl's  companion.  The  latter,  in  turn, 
inspected  the  room  deliberately,  with  a  crafty  calcula 
tion. 

"  Well,"  said  Molly  Lafond,  with  slow  scorn,  "  how 
long  are  you  going  to  sit  there  before  you  take  care  of  a 
lady's  horses?" 

Then  they  suddenly  became  aware  of  the  half-breed 
and  of  the  white-covered  schooner,  dimly  visible 
through  the  door.  They  began  to  regain  control  of 
their  wits.  The  arrested  currents  of  life  moved  once 
more.  Who  was  this  girl?  Why  should  she  com 
mand?  Above  all,  why  did  not  this  little  black  hairy 
man  take  care  of  his  own  horses?  Men  helped  them 
selves  in  the  Wrest. 

They  stirred  uneasily,  but  no  one  responded.  The 
girl's  eyes  flashed. 

"  Move !  "  she  commanded,  stretching  her  arm  with 
a  sudden  and  regal  gesture  toward  the  door. 

The  three  men  nearest  jumped  up  and  hurried  out. 
The  girl  stood  for  an  instant,  her  arm  still  outstretched ; 
then  she  dropped  it  to  her  side  with  a  rippling  laugh. 

"  You  boys  need  someone  to  make  you  stand  'round, 
that's  all,"  she  said.  "  Next  time  I  speak,  you  rustle!  " 

She  placed  her  hands  behind  her  on  the  bar,  and 
jumped  lightly  upward,  perching  on  one  corner  and 
swinging  her  little  feet  to  and  fro.  She  sat  in  the  focus 
of  one  of  the  larger  lamps,  seeming  to  radiate  with  a 
strange  hard  brilliancy.  Her  eyes  sparkled  and  her 
curly  golden  hair  escaped  from  under  her  old  peaked 


ii6  THE   WESTERNERS 

cap  in  a  bewildering  tangle  of  twisted  and  glittering 
fire.  She  went  on  easily,  without  embarrassment,  chat 
tering  in  so  assured  a  manner  that  the  men  were  si 
lenced  by  the  very  shyness  that  should  have  been  hers. 

"  We  got  here  a  little  late,  boys,"  she  said,  conversa 
tionally,  "  on  account  of  a  hot  box,  but  here  we  are — 
me  and  Mike.  You  don't  know  us  though,  do  you? 
Well,  this  is  Mike  Lafond."  She  looked  toward  the 
half-breed,  and  a  sudden  inspiration  lit  her  eye. 
"  Black  Mike ! "  she  cried,  clapping  her  hands. 
"  That's  it ;  Black  Mike."  She  paused  in  happy  con 
templation  of  the  appropriateness  of  this  nickname. 
It  seemed  to  fit ;  and  it  stuck  forever  after.  "  He  owns 
this  joint  here,  he  says,  and  I  reckon  he  says  right," 
she  went  on  after  a  pause.  "  He  ain't  pretty,  but  I'll 
tend  to  that  for  the  family."  She  perked  her  head  side 
ways,  proving  the  point  beyond  contest. 

Peter,  who  had  been  watching  her,  his  own  head 
in  the  same  attentive  pose,  took  this  as  a  signal.  He 
barked  sharply.  "  Shut  up,  dog !  "  commanded  Molly. 
She  seized  a  pretzel  from  a  tin  pan  at  her  side  and 
threw  it  at  Peter.  Peter  considered  the  pretzel  as  a 
contribution,  so  subsided. 

"  Well,  boys,  I'm  glad  to  be  here.  I'm  going  to 
stay.  You  might  look  more  pleased."  She  cast  her 
eye  along  the  group  of  men,  each  in  a  tense  attitude  of 
uneasiness.  Graham's  nonchalant  and  lounging  self- 
poise  struck  her.  "Aren't  you  glad?"  she  asked, 
pointing  her  finger  at  him.  His  quizzical  smile  only 
deepened.  Failing  to  confuse  him,  as  she  intended, 
Molly  hastily  abandoned  him.  "  You  ought  to  be," 
she  asserted,  skilfully  turning  the  remark  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Cheyenne  Harry.  "  Come  here  and  let's  look 


HARRY    LOSES   HIS   PIS1OL      117 

at  you.  I  want  to  know  your  name.  You  ain't  bash 
ful,  are  you  ?  " 

Harry  put  on  an  appearance  of  ease  and  sauntered 
over  to  the  bar.  He  would  show  the  boys  that  he  was 
used  to  society.  He  grinned  at  her  pleasantly. 

"  Can't  no  one  look  purty  nex'  to  you !  "  he  said 
boldly. 

"  Well,  well !  "  cried  Molly,  clapping  him  liehtly  on 
the  shoulder.  "  That's  the  first  pleasant  word  I've  had, 
and  after  I've  told  you  I  was  coming  here  to  live,  too  !  " 

Billy  Knapp  bounced  up,  eager  to  retrieve  his  rep 
utation. 

"  Th'  camp  bids  you  welcome,  ma'am,  an'  is  proud 
and  pleased  that  such  a  beauteous  member  of  her  lovely 
sect  is  come  amongst  us  !  "  he  orated. 

The  men  moved  their  chairs  slightly.  One  or  two 
cleared  their  throats.  The  constraint  was  beginning 
to  break. 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  Molly  prettily.  "  This  is  an 
occasion.  Mike  here  asks  you  all  to  have  a  drink. 
Don't  you,  Mike?  " 

The  half-breed  nodded.  He  was  watching  the  prog 
ress  of  affairs  keenly. 

Frosty  set  out  glasses,  into  which  the  men  poured 
whiskey  from  small  black  bottles.  Harry  gave  his  own 
to  the  girl,  and  then  procured  another  for  himself. 
Mike  sat  by  the  stove.  Peter  approached  tentatively, 
but  decided  to  remain  at  a  wary  distance.  At  the  other 
end  of  the  room  the  faro  dealer  shuffled  his  cards,  in 
different,  imperturbable,  cat-like  ;  a  strange  man,  with 
out  friends,  implacable  and  just.  The  men  who  had 
gone  to  stable  the  horses  entered  and  received  their 
glasses.  The  girl  raised  hers  high  in  the  air. 


ii8  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Now,"  she  cried,  "  here's  hoping  we'll  all  be  good 
friends !  " 

The  men  drank  their  whiskey.  They  were  slowly 
developing  a  certain  enthusiasm  over  the  new  girl. 
Constraint  was  gone.  They  lounged  easily  against  the 
bar.  Two  stood  out  near  the  middle  of  the  floor,  where 
they  could  see  better,  their  arms  across  each  other's 
shoulders.  Molly  touched  her  lips  to  her  glass,  and 
hancftd  it  to  Billy,  who  stood  on  the  other  side  of  her. 
"  Drink  it  for  me,"  she  whispered  confidentially  in  his 
ear. 

"  It'll  make  me  drunk,"  he  said  in  mock  objection. 
She  looked  incredulous.  "  You  have  touched  it  with 
yore  lips,"  he  explained  sentimentally,  and  drank  to 
cover  his  confusion.  He  felt  elated.  He  had  made  a 
pretty  speech,  too. 

The  girl  laughed  and  put  her  hand  caressingly  on 
his  shoulder.  At  either  knee  was  one  of  these  great 
men ;  about  were  many  others,  all  looking  at  her  with 
admiration,  waiting  for  her  words.  This  was  triumph  ! 
This  was  power !  And  then  she  looked  up  and  found 
Graham's  calm  gray  eyes  fixed  on  her  in  quizzical 
amusement.  She  turned  away  impatiently  and  began 
to  talk. 

Never  was  such  airy  persiflage  heard  in  a  mining 
camp  before.  The  prospectors  were  dissolved  in  a 
continual  grin,  exploded  in  a  perpetual  guffaw.  Now 
they  understood  the  charm  of  woman's  conversation, 
which  Moroney  had  so  often  extolled.  They  spared 
a  thought  to  wish  that  Moroney  were  here  to  take  part 
in  this.  "  Moroney  can  do  such  elegant  horsing,"  they 
said.  What  a  pair  this  would  be !  How  she  glanced 
from  one  member  to  the  other  of  the  group  with  her 


HARRY   LOSES   HIS   PISTOL      119 

witty  speeches  !  She  rapped  each  man's  knuckles  hard, 
to  the  delight  of  all  the  rest,  and  yet  the  fillip  left  no 
pain,  but  only  a  pleasant  glow.  They  laughed  con- 
sumedly. 

And  then,  after  a  little,  she  asked  them  if  they  could 
sing ;  and  without  waiting  for  a  reply,  she  struck  up  a 
song  of  her  own  in  a  high,  sweet  voice.  With  a  grip 
ping  of  the  heart  and  a  catching  of  the  breath,  ^hey 
recognized  the  air.  Not  one  man  there  had  ever  heard 
its  words  in  a  woman's  voice  before.  It  was  "  Sandy 
Land,"  the  universal,  the  endless,  the  beloved,  the  song 
that  brings  back  to  every  Westerner  visions  of  other 
times  when  he  has  sung  it,  and  other  places — the  night 
herd,  the  camp  fire,  the  trail.  With  the  chorus  there 
came  a  roar  as  every  man  present  sang  out  the  heart 
that  was  in  him.  The  girl  was  surrounded  in  an  in 
stant.  This  was  the  moment  of  which  she  had  dreamed. 
She  half  closed  her  eyes,  and  laughed  with  the  gur 
gling  over-note  of  a  triumphant  child. 

Cheyenne  Harry  straightened  from  his  lounging  po 
sition  at  the  girl's  left,  slipped  his  arm  about  her  waist, 
and  kissed  her  full  upon  the  lips. 

The  room  suddenly  became  very  still.  Peter  could 
be  heard  scratching  his  neck  with  stiffened  hind  leg 
behind  the  stove.  Graham  half  started  from  his  seat, 
but  sank  back  as  he  saw  the  girl's  face.  Mike  never 
stirred  or  missed  a  puff  on  his  short  pipe. 

The  girl  paled  a  little,  and,  putting  her  hands  be 
hind  her,  slid  carefully  off  the  edge  of  the  bar  to  the 
floor.  Then  she  walked  with  quick  firm  steps  to  the 
offender  and  slapped  him  vigorously,  first  on  one  side 
of  the  head,  then  on  the  other.  He  raised  his  elbows 
to  defend  his  ears,  whereupon  she  reached  swiftly  for- 


120  THE   WESTERNERS 

ward  under  his  arm  and  slipped  his  pistol  from  its  open 
holster;  after  which  she  retreated  slowly  backward, 
holding  both  hands  behind  her.  Cheyenne  Harry 
turned  red  and  white,  and  looked  about  him  help 
lessly. 

:<  You  ain't  big  enough  to  have  a  gun !  "  she  said, 
with  scorn.  "  When  you  get  man  enough  to  tell  me 
you're  sorry,  I'll  give  it  back." 

She  crossed  the  room  toward  the  street,  dangling 
the  pistol  on  one  finger  by  the  trigger  guard. 

"  I  reckon  I'll  go  now,"  she  said  simply.  She  passed 
through  the  door  to  the  canvas-covered  schooner  out 
side. 

A  breathless  but  momentary  silence  was  broken  by 
Cheyenne  Harry. 

"  I  know  it,  boys,  I  know  it,"  he  protested.  "  Don't 
say  a  word.  Frosty,  trot  out  the  nose  paint." 

Billy  was  fuming. 

"  Hell  of  a  way  to  do !  "  he  muttered.  "  Nice  hos 
pitable  way  to  welkim  a  lady !  Lovely  idee  she  gets  of 
this  camp !  " 

Harry  turned  on  him  slowly.  "  What's  it  to  yuh  ?  " 
he  asked  malevolently.  "  What's  it  to  yuh,  eh  ?  I 
want  to  know !  Who  let  you  in  this,  anyway  ?  " 

He  thrust  his  head  forward  at  Billy. 

"  For  the  love  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  shut  up,  you 
fellows !  "  cried  Jack  Graham.  "  Don't  make  ever 
lasting  fools  of  yourselves.  That  girl  can  take  care 
of  herself  without  any  of  your  help,  Billy ;  and  it  served 
you  dead  right,  Harry,  and  you  know  it." 

"  That's  right,  Billy,"  said  several. 

Harry  growled  sulkily  in  his  glass.  "  Ain't  I  know- 
in'  it?"  he  objected.  "Ain't  I  payin'  fer  this  drink 


HARRY   LOSES   HIS    PISTOL      121 

because  I  know  it  ?  But  I  ain't  goin'  t'  have  any  ranika- 
boo  ijit  like  Billy  Knapp  rubbin'  it  in." 

"  Billy  didn't  mean  to  rub  it  in,"  said  Jack  Graham, 
"  so  shake  hands  and  let  up." 

The  threatened  quarrel  was  averted,  and  the  men 
drank  on  Harry.  Then  Mike  set  up  the  drinks  to  the 
furtherance  of  their  friendly  relations.  They  talked  to 
Mike  at  length,  inquiring  his  plans,  approving  his  sense 
in  choosing  Copper  Creek  as  a  residence,  congratulat 
ing  him  on  his  daughter,  commending  her  style.  Mike 
hoped  they  would  make  the  Little  Nugget  their  even 
ing  headquarters.  They  replied  with  enthusiasm  that 
they  would.  Mike  made  himself  agreeable  in  a  quiet 
way,  without  saying  much.  Everybody  was  "  stuck  " 
on  him — everybody  but  Harry.  Harry  sulked  over 
Billy's  insults.  His  sullen  mood  had  returned.  Fi 
nally,  late  in  the  evening,  he  pushed  his  chair  back 
abruptly  and  went  up  to  the  bar. 

"  I'm  goin',"  he  announced.    "  Give  me  that  bottle." 

He  poured  himself  a  stiff  drink,  which  he  absorbed 
at  a  toss  of  the  wrist,  and  turned  away. 

"  Mr.  Mortimer,"  called  Frosty,  "  did  you  pay  for 
this?" 

"  Chalk  it  down  to  me,"  called  Harry,  without  look 
ing  back. 

Frosty  caught  the  snake  eye  of  his  proprietor  fixed 
upon  him.  He  twisted  his  feet  in  terror  beneath  the 
bar.  "  It's  agin  the  rules,"  he  called  at  last,  weakly, 
just  as  Harry  reached  the  door. 

The  latter  turned  in  heavy  surprise.  Then  he  walked 
deliberately  back  to  the  bar,  on  which  he  leaned  his 
elbows. 

"  Look  yere,"  he  said  truculently,  "  ain't  I  good  fer 
that?" 


122  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Why,  yes,  I  reckon  so,"  cried  poor  Frosty  in  an 
agony.  "  But  it's  agin  the  rules." 

"  Rules,  rules !  "  sneered  Harry.  "  Since  when  air 
you  runnin'  this  joint  on  rules?  Ain't  you  chalked 
drinks  up  to  me  before  ?  Ain't  you  ?  Answer  me  that. 
Ain't  you  ?  " 

"  But  it's  different  now,"  objected  Mudge. 

"  Different,  is  it  ?  Well,  you  chalk  that  drink  up 
to  me  as  I  tell  yuh,  or  go  plumb  to  th'  devil  for  the 
pay.  And  don't  you  bother  me  no  more,  or  I'll  have 
to  be  harsh  to  yuh  !  "  Harry  loved  to  bully,  and  he  was 
working  off  his  irritation.  The  men  in  the  room  stood 
silent.  Harry  liked  an  audience.  He  went  on :  "  I'll 
shoot  up  yore  old  rat  joint  yere  till  you  ain't  got  glass 
enough  left  to  mend  your  wall  eye,  you  white-headed 
little  varmint." 

Lafond  had  come  softly  to  the  end  of  the  bar. 
"  Naw,"  he  interrupted  quietly,  "  you  are  not  shoot 
ing  up  anything." 

Harry  turned  slowly  to  him  and  spread  his  legs 
apart.  "And  did  you  address  me,  sir?"  he  begged 
with  mock  politeness.  "  Would  you  be  so  p'lite  as  to 
repeat  yore  remarks  ?  " 

"  You  are  not  shooting  up  anything,"  reiterated 
Mike,  "  and  it  is  you  who  will  settle  for  this  drink. 
Behold  the  sign  which  you  have  read !  " 

Harry  turned  to  the  room  wide  eyed.  "  Did  you 
hear  the  nerve  of  it  ?  "  he  inquired.  "  Tellin'  me  what 
I'll  do !  You  damn  little  greaser,"  he  cried  in  sudden 
fury,  "  I'll  show  you  whether  I'm  shootin'  up  any- 
thin'!" 

He  reached  for  his  gun,  remembered  on  the  instant 
that  his  holster  was  empty,  and  sprang  for  Lafond. 


HARRY   LOSES   HIS   PISTOL      123 

The  half-breed  calmly  lifted  a  whiskey  glass,  near  which 
he  had  taken  the  precaution  to  stand,  and  slopped  its 
contents  full  in  the  other's  eyes.  Harry,  blinded, 
struck  against  the  corner  of  the  bar.  Mike  slipped  to 
one  side  and  produced  his  revolver. 

Several  sprang  between  the  two  men.  The  room 
was  in  an  uproar.  Peter  barked,  clamant,  frantic. 
Everybody  tried  to  talk  at  once.  In  the  background 
the  faro  dealer  ceased  shuffling  his  cards,  and  began 
imperturbably,  indifferently,  to  pack  together  his  lay 
out.  He  had  made  little  that  night.  After  a  moment 
he  went  out,  without  a  glance  toward  the  excited  group. 

The  men  were  forcing  the  blinded  and  raving  Harry 
toward  the  door.  Mike  leaned  over  the  bar,  watching 
with  bright  eyes,  his  arms  folded  across  his  chest  and 
the  pistol  barrel  peeping  over  the  crook  of  one  elbow. 

When  they  had  all  gone  out,  most  of  them  shouting 
good-natured  farewells,  he  turned  savagely  on  the 
pale-faced  Mudge.  The  native  cruelty  of  the  man 
blazed  forth.  He  scored  the  barkeeper  with  a  tongue 
that  lashed  like  a  whip,  vituperating,  crushing  with 
the  weight  of  his  sarcasm,  frightening  with  the  vivid 
ness  of  his  threats.  Mudge  shrank  back  into  the  cor 
ner  of  the  space  behind  the  bar,  spreading  his  arms 
along  either  side,  watching  the  half-breed  with  wide- 
open  fascinated  eyes,  as  one  would  watch  a  dangerous 
wild  beast. 

After  a  little  the  storm  passed.  Lafond  asked  in 
surly  tones  where  the  bunk  was.  Frosty  showed  him 
his  own,  behind  the  saloon,  in  a  little  shack  of  hewn 
timbers.  Without  a  word  Lafond  turned  in,  dressed 
as  he  was,  and  closed  his  eyes.  For  a  time  he  rumi 
nated  slowly.  He  had  seen  his  man,  and  already  he 


124  THE   WESTERNERS 

could  put  his  finger  on  one  weak  point  in  Billy's  per 
sonality — love  of  the  spectacular,  of  bombast.  A  blow 
to  his  vanity  would  hurt.  The  half-breed  had  also 
taken  fair  measure  of  most  of  the  other  men  in  the 
room.  He  knew  how  to  ingratiate  himself,  and  his 
bold  move  in  the  case  of  Cheyenne  Harry  had  had  that 
object  directly  in  view.  He  did  not  as  yet  see  clearly 
just  what  form  his  blow  to  Billy's  vanity  was  to  take, 
but  that  would  come  with  time.  Lafond's  calling  and 
his  position  in  the  new  town  gave  him  unlimited  op 
portunities  for  observation,  and  he  was  in  no  hurry. 
After  waiting  fifteen  years,  another  twelvemonth  would 
not  matter. 

"  Go  slow,"  said  Black  Mike  to  himself. 

His  doze  was  abruptly  broken  by  Frosty's  scared 
voice  asking  a  question.  The  barkeeper's  thick  wits 
could  not  take  in  the  situation.  He  was  frightened 
almost  out  of  his  senses,  and  incapable  of  consecutive 
thought. 

"  And  where  shall  I  sleep,  sir  ?  "  he  asked  stupidly 
in  a  timid  little  voice. 

Mike  turned  over  explosively.  "  You  can  sleep  in 
hell  for  all  of  me !  "  he  shouted  angrily.  "  Get  out !  " 

Frosty  returned  to  the  main  room  of  the  saloon. 
There  he  spread  a  horse  blanket,  redolent  of  the 
stables,  on  the  floor  behind  the  stove.  After  a  time 
Peter  lay  down  beside  him.  The  barkeeper,  fright 
ened,  stupid,  vaguely  nervous,  in  his  slow  nerveless 
way,  gathered  the  strange  intelligent  dog  to  him,  and 
the  two  slept. 

The  men  took  Harry  to  the  creek,  where  he  washed 
out  his  eyes.  They  had  many  comments  to  make,  to 
none  of  which  Harry  vouchsafed  a  reply.  But  his 


HARRY   LOSES   HIS   PISTOL      125 

sulkiness  was  gone.  Suddenly  he  paused  for  a  mo 
ment  in  his  ablutions,  and  laughed. 

"  Damned  if  they  ain't  a  pair !  "  he  asserted.  "  And 
that  gal " 

"  She  shore  beats  grass-widders  and  school- 
ma'ams  !  "  said  Old  Mizzou. 


XVI 

AND    GETS    IT   BACK   AGAIN 

THE  girl  had  seen  all  that  Lafond  had  seen  and 
more.     She  knew  now  that  Billy  Knapp  was 
easily  the  most  important  figure  in  the  camp ; 
that  Cheyenne  Harry  was  the  most  admired  and  feared ; 
that  Jack  Graham  was  the  most  likely  to  be  heard  from 
in  the  future.    The  other  men  fell  into  the  background 
behind  these  three  figures.    The  situation  was  simpli 
fied  by  the  fact.     All  she  needed  now  for  complete 
triumph  was,  to  discover  the  vulnerable  points  of  these 
three,  attack  them  craftily,  and  the  game  was  hers. 

She  thought  she  knew  the  way.  She  fell  asleep 
dreaming  of  it.  She  awoke  in  the  early  morning  with 
the  day's  plan  clear  and  perfect  in  her  mind,  each  move 
in  the  game  she  was  to  play  clearly  outlined  before  her. 
It  had  come  to  her  in  the  night  without  conscious 
effort  on  her  own  part. 

She  dressed  herself  in  the  semi-obscurity  of  the 
wagon-body,  and  stepped  out  into  the  morning.  The 
brook  was  not  far  away.  She  discovered  it,  and  bathed 
her  face  and  throat  in  its  ice-cold  waters.  Then  she 
returned  to  the  wagon,  where  she  made  breakfast  of  a 
huge  irregular  chunk  of  bread  and  slices  of  cold  bacon, 
sitting  on  the  wagon  tongue  and  swinging  her  feet 
carelessly  back  and  forth  while  eating.  Occasionally 
she  threw  a  remnant  to  the  few  silent  Canada  jays  that 
drifted  here  and  there  in  the  sleeping  town,  fluffed  out 

126 


AND  GETS   IT   BACK   AGAIN     127 

like  milkweed  pollen  in  the  summer,  searching  for 
scraps.  They  swooped  to  her  offerings  on  swift  mo 
tionless  wing,  and  then  retreated  to  a  distance,  whence 
they  abused  their  benefactor  with  strident  voice.  The 
girl  watched  them  idly. 

How  to  impress  her  personality  in  the  most  agree 
able  way  on  the  greatest  number  of  men  !  The  problem 
was  many  faceted.  She  must  not  show  favoritism; 
therefore  the  method  must  be  general.  She  must  ren 
der  herself  and  not  merely  her  sex  agreeable :  there 
fore  it  would  have  to  be  personal.  It  must  appeal  to 
the  men's  sense  of  protection  rather  than  to  their  mere 
admiration;  therefore  in  it  she  must  efface  herself, 
and  exalt  them.  This  was  all  apparently  contradictory. 
But  no;  she  saw  it  clearly  in  a  flash.  She  must  let 
them  do  her  a  favor.  Instinctively  she  realized,  though 
she  did  not  formulate  the  thought,  that  this  is  one  of 
the  sure  ways  of  gaining  a  man's  good  will.  She  cast 
back  over  the  necessities  of  the  case,  and  saw  that  it 
would  suffice.  In  doing  something  for  her,  they  would 
at  once  stand  well  in  their  own  eyes,  because  of  a  cer 
tain  consciousness  of  unselfish  effort ;  they  would  ex 
pand  protectively  toward  her,  because  of  her  weakness, 
implied  in  the  fact  that  they  could  do  her  a  kindness. 
What  was  the  favor  to  be?  The  wagon  behind  her 
answered  the  question.  They  should  build  her  a 
house. 

All  this  passed  through  her  mind,  as  a  drift  setting 
in  from  upstream,  gliding  before  her  consciousness, 
and  floating  on  down  stream  in  unhasting  progression. 
She  did  not  realize  that  she  was  thinking  out  a  prob 
lem  ;  at  least  she  made  no  effort  to  do  so.  It  came  to 
her  as  she  needed  it.  To  all  appearance  she  was  watch- 


128  THE  WESTERNERS 

ing  idly,  with  unruffled  brow,  the  tenuous  threads  oi 
smoke  which  indicated  that  the  camp  was  awakening. 
The  number  of  these  smoke  signals  suggested  a  new 
problem.  She  could  hardly  enlist  the  entire  popula 
tion  of  a  camp  the  size  of  Copper  Creek  in  the  task  of 
building  one  little  log  cabin.  The  idea  of  the  swarm 
ing  multitude  struck  her  as  so  funny  that  she  laughed 
aloud.  She  must  choose  ;  and  the  choice  must  be  ju 
dicious.  The  men  selected  must  represent  the  influ 
ential  element,  the  leaders  of  opinion ;  while  those  de 
nied  the  privilege  of  serving  her  must  be  the  sort  who 
always  follow  with  the  majority.  Here  her  intuition 
balked,  and  her  scanty  knowledge  could  not  help  it 
out.  She  was  frankly  puzzled. 

As  she  sat  there  knitting  her  brows,  a  boy  came  up 
the  street.  He  was  bare-foot,  straw-hatted,  freckled. 
He  had  wide  gray  eyes,  a  snub  nose,  and  an  impudent 
mouth.  His  clothes  were  varied  and  inadequate. 
Over  his  arm  he  carried  a  little  rifle.  About  him,  at  a 
wary  distance,  frisked  Peter,  escaped  from  the  Little 
Nugget  through  some  mysterious  back  exit. 

The  boy  occasionally  threw  an  impatient  stick  at 
Peter,  whereupon  Peter  would  suddenly  place  two 
paws  in  front  of  him  and  bend  his  back  down,  with 
every  appearance  of  delight.  Then  the  boy  would  issue 
commands  to  Peter  anent  returning  home,  to  which 
Peter  paid  not  the  slightest  attention.  So  absorbed 
was  he  in  his  effort  to  get  rid  of  what  he  evidently  con 
sidered  an  undesirable  companion,  that  he  did  not 
notice  the  girl  until  he  was  within  a  few  yards  of  her. 
He  then  gave  his  entire  attention  to  her  inspection. 
He  stood  on  one  spot  and  stared  without  winking,  dig 
ging  a  big  toe  into  the  dust.  His  unabashed  eyes  took 


AND  GETS   IT   BACK   AGAIN     129 

in  every  detail.  He  was  without  embarrassment,  and 
evidently  gave  not  a  thought  to  the  effect  of  this  ex 
tended  scrutiny  on  the  object  of  it. 

"  Hello,  kid  !  "  called  Molly. 

The  boy  completed  his  leisurely  inspection.  Then, 
"  Hello,"  he  answered,  with  reserve. 

"  Won't  you  come  over  and  see  me  ?  " 

He  weighed  the  point  and  drew  nearer. 

"  Who  are. you?  "  he  asked  bluntly. 

"  My  name's  Molly ;  what's  yours  ?  " 

"  Dennis  Moroney.  They  call  me  the  Kid.  What- 
chew  doin'  here?  " 

"  I'm  going  to  live  here." 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  and  looked  her  all  over  again. 
"  This  rifle's  a  flobert,"  he  observed. 

"Is  it?  Let's  see.  What  do  you  shoot  with  it  ?  Is 
there  much  game  up  here?  " 

"  Don't  snap  it ;  it's  bad  for  it.  They's  lots  of  game. 
I  got  a  fox  squirrel  the  other  day.  He  was  so  long. 
He  was  up  a  big  pine,  and  I  hit  him  right  through  the 
head." 

"  You  must  be  a  good  shot.  Will  you  take  me  hunt 
ing  with  you  some  day?  " 

"I  dunno,"  he  replied  doubtfully.  "Girls  ain't 
much  good." 

"  Try  me,"  urged  Molly,  smiling. 

"  I'll  let  you  shoot  her  off  anyway,"  he  said  mag 
nanimously.  "  But  you  gotter  help  clean  her.  If  you 
don't  clean  her,  she  gets  rusty  and  won't  shoot  straight. 
Here's  the  catridges." 

"  What  little  bits  of  things !  Will  they  kill  any 
thing?" 

"  Hoh !  "  replied  the  Kid  with  contempt. 


130  THE   WESTERNERS 

"Is  that  your  dog?"  hastily  inquired  Molly,  con 
scious  of  her  error.  Peter  was  busily  engaged  in 
acquiring  an  olfactory  knowledge  of  the  four  wheels 
and  two  axles  of  the  wagon. 

"  Him  ?  Naw.  He's  the  bigges'  fool  dog  I  ever  see. 
He  goes  along  unless  you  tie  him  up.  And  he  keeps 
rummagin'  around,  and  he  scares  all  the  game  there  is. 
/  can't  make  him  stay  home." 

A  cabin  door  opened  quickly,  and  a  miner  issued 
forth. 

"  There  goes  Dan  Barker,"  said  the  Kid. 

In  twenty  minutes  Molly  knew  the  history  of  every 
one  of  any  importance  in  town.  She  found  the  child's 
primitive  instinct  of  hero  worship  an  unerring  touch 
stone  by  which  to  judge  of  each  individual's  influence 
in  this  little  community.  He  reflected  the  camp's  opin 
ion,  and  this  was  exactly  what  she  wanted  to  learn. 
She  encouraged  the  boy  to  talk — not  a  difficult  matter, 
for  his  attentions  had  hitherto  been  quite  ignored,  sav 
ing  by  Frosty  and  Peter.  Frosty  had  proved  valuable 
always  in  the  matter  of  skinning  game  or  extracting 
refractory  shells,  but  he  had  never,  even  in  his  young 
est  days,  been  a  boy.  Between  Peter  and  the  Kid  was 
waged  a  perpetual  war  on  the  subject  of  hunting 
methods.  The  Kid  believed  in  stalking.  Peter  held 
the  opinion  that  the  chase  was  the  only  noble  form 
of  the  sport.  The  child  had  been  lonely,  strange. 
Now  he  chatted  to  Molly  with  all  the  self-reliant  con 
fidence  which  pertains  of  right  to  healthy  boyhood, 
but  which  heretofore  he  had  been  denied.  He  boasted 
with  accustomed  air.  He  spoke  lightly  of  great  deeds. 
Molly  did  not  laugh  at  him.  His  heart  warmed  to  her, 
and  he  fell  in  love  with  her  on  the  spot.  This  was 


AND  GETS   IT   BACK   AGAIN     131 

perhaps  the  most  important  conquest  the  girl  was  des 
tined  to  make,  for  there  is  no  devotion  in  the  world 
like  that  of  a  boy  of  thirteen  for  a  girl  older  than  him 
self. 

In  a  little  time,  Molly  had  gathered  a  number  ot 
men  about  her,  and  was  holding  them  by  sheer  force 
of  charm. 

"  How  are  you  ?  "  she  called  pleasantly  to  the  first. 

"  Purty  smart,"  grinned  the  man,  slouching  past 
awkwardly.  "  How's  yourself?  " 

"  Good.  Come  on  over  and  see  me  and  the  Kid  for 
awhile." 

She  talked  to  him  lightly,  while  he  lumbered  along 
after  with  his  slow  wits.  Other  men  came  out,  to  all 
of  whom  she  called  a  greeting,  and  some  of  whom  she 
summoned  to  her.  She  held  them  easily.  It  became 
an  audience,  a  court.  They  had  a  good  time.  There 
was  much  laughter.  No  one  grudged  the  delay.  Each 
man  held  his  axe  shouldered,  expecting  to  go  on  to 
work  in  a  moment  or  so,  but  still  lingering — because 
she  willed  that  he  should. 

After  a  time,  the  hotel  began  to  give  up  its  inmates. 
The  gambler  came  forth  into  the  sunshine  and  lit  a 
cigarette.  Graham  joined  him,  casting  an  amused  eye 
at  the  men  about  the  wagon.  Two  or  three  others, 
including  the  proprietor,  leaned  against  the  hitching 
rail  watching  the  animated  group.  Finally  Cheyenne 
Harry  sauntered  carelessly  forth.  His  broad  hat — 
straight-brimmed  in  a  lop-brimmed  camp — was  pushed 
to  one  side.  He  swaggered  a  little. 

The  girl  saw  him  and  jumped  down  from  the  wagon 
tongue,  breaking  off  suddenly  in  a  remark  she  was 
making. 


132  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Hi,  you !  "  she  called. 

He  paid  no  attention. 

"  Hi,  you !  "  she  repeated,  jumping  up  and  down 
with  a  pretty  impatient  flutter  of  the  hands.  "  Hi,  you ! 
Come  here !  You're  wanted !  " 

He  looked  up  surprised. 

"  Come  here  !  "  she  repeated. 

And  he  went. 

"  Now,  boys,"  she  said,  when  he  had  joined  the 
group,  "  I'm  going  to  live  with  you,  and  if  I  live  with 
you,  I  must  have  a  place  to  live  in.  So  I  want  you  to 
build  me  a  shack.  Will  you  do  it  ?  " 

The  men  looked  at  one  another. 

"  All  right,"  went  on  Molly,  taking  their  silence  for 
consent,  and  assuming  a  small  air  of  proprietorship 
which  became  her  well.  She  specified  site  and  size. 
"  And  you,"  she  commanded  Cheyenne  Harry,  "  are  to 
boss  one  gang  and  I'll  take  the  other.  You  stay  here 
and  level  up,  and  I'll  go  with  some  of  the  boys  to  cut 
the  timber." 

She  knew  Harry  would  not  refuse  because  his  pistol 
holster  was  empty  and  all  the  camp  knew  why.  And 
yet  levelling  up  is  a  most  disagreeable  job,  for  it  is  a 
question  of  pulverized  rock  and  wood  blocks,  in  soft 
ground ;  and  of  blasting  with  dynamite,  in  hard 
ground. 

Molly  issued  her  orders  rapidly.  Axes  were  found, 
log  chains  exhumed  from  the  warehouse  dust,  horses 
harnessed.  She  waited  long  enough  to  see  the  gang 
under  Cheyenne  Harry  well  started  in  its  work;  and 
then,  herself  mounted  on  one  of  the  horses,  she  and 
the  other  men  took  their  way  down  the  ravine  in  search 
of  timber.  She  was  satisfied  with  having  been  able  to 


AND  GETS   IT    BACK   AGAIN     133 

give  Cheyenne  Harry  just  the  position  of  authority  in 
the  little  undertaking  which  he  now  held,  but  she  con 
fessed  to  a  feeling  of  disappointment  that  Billy  Knapp 
had  not  been  forthcoming,  for  he  too  should  have 
had  a  place  in  her  scheme.  She  had  observed  Jack 
Graham  near  the  hotel,  but  she  had  other  ideas  in  re 
gard  to  the  management  of  that  refractory  individual. 

But  it  so  happened  that,  in  regard  to  Billy,  chance 
helped  her  out.  The  route  selected  ran  up  the  valley, 
and  about  the  bend  was  situated  the  Great  Snake  lode, 
Billy  Knapp's  famous  claim,  before  the  shack  of  which 
its  proprietor  was  at  that  very  moment  fuming  sav 
agely  over  the  non-arrival  of  certain  men  he  had  hired 
to  build  more  fitting  quarters  for  the  new  company's 
inspection.  Billy  blew  a  big  cloud  from  his  pipe,  and 
swore,  when  he  finally  caught  sight  of  a  group  of  axe 
men  and  horses  headed  in  his  direction. 

The  men  saw  him  too.  They  began  to  laugh. 
"  Good  one  on  Billy  Knapp,"  they  agreed.  "  He  must 
be  pretty  hot  when  his  axe  gang  don't  come  any." 

The  girl  overheard  them. 

"What's  that  about  Billy  Knapp?"  she  asked 
sharply. 

"  Didn't  mean  y'  to  hear,  ma'am,"  replied  the 
speaker.  "  Don'  matter  ez  fur's  we's  concerned.  But 
Billy,  he  aims  to  put  up  a  shack  to-day,  gettin'  ready 
for  them  tenderfeet  that's  comin'  from  Cheecawgo  to 
look  over  th'  property;  an'  he  hires  a  lot  of  th'  boys 
t'  put  it  up  fer  him,  an',  you  see,  you  runs  off  with  'most 
the  hull  outfit  yere  to  build  you  a  shack.  So,  natural, 
we  thinks  it  makes  Billy  hot." 

"  I  see,"  said  Molly.  She  reflected  a  moment. 
4  Where  is  it?"  she  asked. 


134  THE  WESTERNERS 

"  That's  it,  right  to  the  lef.  And  that's  Billy  walkin' 
'round  loose."  They  laughed  again. 

Without  a  word  she  turned  the  animal  she  was  rid 
ing  sharp  to  the  left,  and  began  to  mount  the  little 
knoll.  The  men  followed  in  consternation.  Billy's 
patience  was  not  noted  for  its  evenness. 

44  Hullo,  Billy ! "  she  cried  when  she  was  near 
enough.  "  Good  morning!  " 

Billy  had  not  at  first  caught  sight  of  her,  and  was 
now  plainly  a  little  nonplussed  over  his  unexpected 
guest.  Clearly  he  could  not  at  this  moment  "  cuss 
out  "  the  delinquents  as  they  deserved.  He  removed 
his  broad  black  hat. 

"Good  mo'ning!  Good  mo'ning!"  he  replied  to 
the  girl's  greeting.  "  Come  up  t'  see  th'  wo'ks?  " 

"  Whoa  !  "  called  Molly.  The  men  stopped.  "  No," 
she  said  flatly,  "  I  didn't.  Not  to-day,  that  is.  I'm 
busy.  I'm  hunting  for  good  timber." 

Billy  looked  puzzled.    "  Timber?  "  he  repeated. 

"  Yes,  timber.  I'm  going  to  have  a  shack  built,  and 
these  boys  are  going  to  put  it  up  for  me." 

Thus  she  broke  the  news  gently.  Billy  looked  the 
men  over  one  by  one.  He  tunned  a  slow  red. 

"  Huh !  "  he  observed  at  last.  "  I  thought  they  was 
goin'  to  wo'k  fo'  me! " 

"  Did  you  ?  "  asked  Molly  sweetly.  "  Well,  they're 
not ;  at  least,  not  now." 

That  was  categorical.  Billy's  wits  did  not  respond 
to  this  sort  of  emergency  very  quickly.  He  did  not 
want  to  be  rude;  he  did  not  care  to  lose  his  men. 
Molly  looked  down. 

"  Come  here  and  tie  my  shoestring,"  she  com 
manded,  holding  out  her  foot,  and  gripping  the  harness 
with  both  hands. 


AND   GETS   IT    BACK   AGAIN     135 

Billy  did  not  remember  that  he  had  ever  seen  so 
small  a  foot.  He  looked,  fascinated. 

"  Well !  "  she  said  impatiently. 

He  raised  his  head  and  gazed  plump  into  the  im 
perious  depths  of  a  pair  of  blue  eyes.  His  anger 
melted.  He  approached  and  attempted  to  tie  the 
shoe. 

None  but  Molly  ever  knew  how  hard  that  horse 
was  kicked  by  the  other  little  shoe.  Indeed,  no  one 
knew  at  all  how  it  happened.  Some  of  the  eye-wit 
nesses  theorized  concerning  bumblebees.  Others  said 
horseflies.  As  to  the  main  facts,  there  was  no  doubt — 
that  he,  the  horse,  gave  a  sudden  startled  plunge ;  that 
she,  the  girl,  screamed  slightly  and  started  to  fall ;  that 
he,  Billy  Knapp,  caught  her  full  in  his  arms,  held  her 
the  fraction  of  a  second,  and  set  her  lightly  back  on 
the  again  motionless  animal. 

Molly  caught  her  breath  and  steadied  herself  on 
Billy's  shoulder.  Three  men  officiously  held  the 
horse's  head. 

"  My !  "  she  gasped.  "  I'd  like  to  be  as  strong  as 
that ! " 

Billy  whirled  on  the  axe  gang  with  a  great  bluster. 

"  Yere,  you  fellers !  "  he  shouted.  "  What  're  y' 
standin'  around  yere  for?  Take  them  hosses  up  in 
th'  brush  behind  my  shack,  an'  cut  th'  lady  some 
timber !  " 

"  Go  ahead,  boys,"  said  Molly.  She  slid  down  fron? 
the  horse.  "  I'll  be  'long  in  a  minute.  I'm  a  little 
scairt." 

They  clambered  on  up  the  hill,  grinning.  A  clank 
of  chains  told  when  they  had  stopped.  A  moment  later 
the  ring  of  axes  was  heard.  The  Kid  and  the  rifle  had 
disappeared  in  the  direction  of  Peter's  rapid  and 


136  THE   WESTERNERS 

scrambling  exit.  The  boy  and  the  dog  hated  each 
other  apparently,  and  yet  they  could  not  bear  to  be  long 
apart. 

The  girl  sat  down  on  the  ground  and  made  Billy 
talk  about  himself,  which  was  the  obvious  thing  to  do. 
Billy  was  one  of  those  expansive  sanguine  individuals 
without  much  ability  in  what  we  call  practical  affairs, 
and  yet  with  a  certain  dexterity  in  gathering  unto  him 
self  the  means  with  which  to  be  impractical.  Because 
of  this,  he.  had  a  good  opinion  of  himself,  which  at  the 
same  time  he  was  much  given  to  doubting.  Molly  in 
duced  him  to  flatter  himself,  and  then  deftly  agreed 
with  him. 

After  a  time  they  went  up  through  the  pines  to 
where  the  workmen  were  felling  trees.  Toward  noon 
the  whole  party  returned  to  town,  dragging  behind 
the  horses  a  number  of  tree  trunks  chained  together 
with  steel  chains.  These  were  slid  to  the  site  of  the 
house,  and  left  in  the  road. 

The  men  in  camp  had  nearly  finished  their  job  of 
levelling  up.  Cheyenne  Harry  had  worked  hard  with 
his  own  hands.  In  the  shade  of  the  Little  Nugget, 
Black  Mike  and  Graham  sat,  chair  tilted,  contempla 
tively  watching  the  process.  Through  the  open  door 
could  be  perceived  a  gleam  of  white  that  indicated 
Frosty;  otherwise  the  street  of  the  town  was  empty. 
The  prospectors  were  all  out  in  the  hills,  preparing  a 
suitable  showing  for  the  inspection  of  the  boom  which 
they  felt  sure  must  be  close  at  hand. 

The  united  forces  rolled  the  foundation  timbers  in 
place,  straining,  sweating,  grunting,  for  it  was  no  easy 
work.  The  sun  stood  straight  overhead.  After  a  lit 
tle,  observing  this,  Molly  called  a  halt  for  the  noon 


AND  GETS   IT   BACK  AGAIN     137 

hour.  To  each  man  she  addressed  a  word  of  thanks, 
and  a  reminder  that  the  job  was  but  half  over.  The  re 
minder  however  was  unnecessary,  for,  under  the  stim 
ulus  of  concerted  effort,  public  sentiment  had  crystal 
lized  into  the  opinion  that  the  housing  of  a  "  first 
woman  "  was  a  public  duty. 

In  a  few  moments  the  street  was  deserted,  save  for 
Cheyenne  Harry  and  the  two  men  under  the  eaves  of 
the  Little  Nugget.  From  the  chimneys  of  some  of 
the  cabins  the  smoke  of  cooking  arose. 

Cheyenne  Harry,  vo'latile,  changeable,  fickle,  stood 
still  in  the  middle  of  the  dusty  road  and  cursed  himself 
for  a  fool.  He  had  blistered  his  hands,  overheated  him 
self  most  uncomfortably,  and  made  his  muscles  ache 
with  unwonted  lifting.  For  what  ?  For  a  girl  who, 
the  evening  before,  had  boxed  his  ears  and  stolen  his 
gun.  Fascinated  by  a  pair  of  pretty  eyes  and  a  petty 
display  of  courage,  he  had  worked  himself  like  a  horse. 
He  dropped  his  head  in  a  brown  study,  moodily  dig 
ging  away  at  the  ground  with  his  heel,  ruminating  bit 
terly  over  his  egregious  folly. 

"  Thank  you  very  much,"  said  a  soft  little  voice, 
breaking  in  on  his  irritation  like  a  silver  bell  on  a 
moody  silence. 

He  raised  his  head,  and  beheld  Molly  standing 
before  him,  looking  up  at  him  with  grave  sweet 
eyes.  There  was  a  hint  of  weariness  in  her  droop 
ing  eyelids  that  appealed  subtly  to  his  own  weary 
spirit.  She  seemed,  standing  there  in  the  deserted 
street,  to  typify  for  the  moment  the  aloofness  of  his 
mood. 

"  You've  been  good  to  me  this  morning,"  she  went 
on  in  a  quiet  monotone,  "  mighty  good !  " 


138  THE   WESTERNERS 

She  stepped  nearer  to  him  until  her  breast  almost 
touched  his. 

"  I  want  you  to  look  up  at  that  pine  over  there  until 
I  tell  you  you  can  quit,"  she  said  as  gravely  as  a  child 
about  to  bestow  a  sugar  plum. 

Harry  turned  his  eyes  to  the  hill. 

She  stooped  swiftly  and  drew  the  band  of  a  holster 
and  belt  around  his  hips.  Unmindful  of  his  promise, 
he  looked  down  on  her  in  surprise. 

"  Don't  be  mad,'r  she  pleaded.  "  I  got  Frosty  to 
get  it  for  me  from  your  shack,  so  I  could  put  your  gun 
in  it.  And  now  you'll  wear  it  for  me,  won't  you?  I 
said  you  couldn't  have  it  till  you  told  me  you  were 
sorry.  Well,  you  have  told  me  you  were  sorry,  in  the 
best  way — by  doing  something.  I  know  how  it  is. 
I've  had  to  work.  It's  no  fun  to  be  laughed  at ;  and 
you'll  always  be  as  good  and  brave  as  you  were  this 
morning,  won't  you  ?  " 

A  rush  as  of  something  beautiful  swept  over  him. 
His  eyes  filled  and  he  tried  to  speak,  but  turned 
away. 

"  Now,  run  along,"  she  exclaimed  gayly,  giving  him 
a  little  pat  on  the  shoulder,  "  and  don't  forget  you've 
got  a  job  for  this  afternoon  !  " 

She  stood  for  a  moment  in  the  middle  of  the  road 
watching  him. 

Graham,  sitting  under  the  eaves  of  the  Little  Nug 
get,  surveyed  the  little  scene  with  cynical  eyes.  He 
watched  the  girl  walk  toward  the  saloon.  She  had 
taken  off  her  sunbonnet  and  the  noon  sun  was  gilding 
her  hair.  She  was  pensive  and  thoughtful,  and  looked 
down.  He  told  himself  that  she  did  this  because  it  was 
a  becoming  pose.  Graham  was  the  sort  of  man  whom 


AND   GETS   IT    BACK   AGAIN     139 

pretence,  craftiness,  guile,  always  roused  to  arms.  So 
long  as  he  was  antagonized,  or  thought  he  was,  his 
bitterness  and  scorn  were  unappeasable ;  but  once  his 
ascendancy  was  freely  acknowledged,  he  threw  away 
its  advantages  with  the  utmost  generosity.  He 
thought  he  saw  through  this  girl,  and  so  he  despised 
her  and  her  tricks  alike. 

As  she  approached,  Lafond  arose  and  went  inside 
the  saloon,  where  he  began  to  inquire  of  Frosty  in 
regard  to  dinner.  The  girl  sat  down  in  the  vacated 
chair.  Beyond  a  curt  little  nod  to  Graham  she  did  not 
notice  his  presence. 

Over  Tom  Custer  an  eagle  was  wheeling  slowly  to 
and  fro,  barking  with  the  mere  delight  of  being  on 
the  wing.  Molly  fixed  her  eyes  dreamily  on  the  bird, 
but  without  apparent  consciousness  of  more  than  the 
mere  fact  of  its  wide  motion.  Graham  imperturbably 
whittled  a  pine  stick,  and  whistled  at  the  sky. 

This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  some  time. 

"  How  do  you  keep  the  dirt  from  coming  through 
the  roof?  "  asked  Molly  suddenly,  her  mind,  to  all  ap 
pearance,  entirely  on  the  work  in  hand. 

Graham  explained  briefly. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Molly. 

After  a  few  minutes  more  Graham  shifted  his  knife 
into  his  left  hand,  and  began  idly  to  stab  the  bench 
with  it.  Several  times  he  opened  his  mouth  to  speak. 

"  You've  got  him  well  trained,"  he  observed  finally, 
with  a  slight  curl  of  the  lip. 

"  Who  ?  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  cried,  genuinely 
surprised  out  of  the  indifference  she  had  assumed. 

"  Him — Lafond.  He  knows  when  to  go  away. 
Why  did  you  want  to  get  rid  of  him  ?  " 


140  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  I  didn't  want  to  get  rid  of  him.  It  was  so  I  could 
be  alone." 

"  That's  consistent !  It  was  nothing  of  the  kind. 
It  was  so  you  could  be  alone — with  me." 

She  looked  him  over,  flushing  angrily.  Then  she 
deliberately  turned  her  shoulder  to  him. 

"  You  are  very  impudent,"  she  remarked  coldly. 
"  You  seem  to  forget  that  I  don't  even  know  you,  I 
don't  know  why  I  sit  here  and  listen,  except  that  I  am 
comfortable,  and  don't  care  to  be  driven  away." 

"  You  wanted  to  capture  me  some  way  or  another," 
he  went  on  musingly,  catching  a  glimmer  of  the  truth  ; 
"  same  as  those  poor  fools  out  there  in  the  sun.  I'd 
just  like  to  know  how  you  meant  to  do  it  and  what 
you'd  have  done  to  me.  Would  you  have  flattered  me, 
or  coaxed  me,  or  what  ?  " 

The  girl  did  not  reply. 

"  How  ?  "  he  urged,  expecting  an  angry  outburst, 
but  profoundly  indifferent  to  it. 

"  You  are  cruel,"  she  answered  softly,  after  a  pause, 
"  and  very  unjust."  Her  cheeks  were  glowing  and 
there  was  a  glint  in  her  eye,  but  he  could  not  see  that. 
"  They  are  only  kind  and  good,  not  fools.'"' 

"  Of  course  they're  good,  but  they  are  good  because 
you  fool  them  into  it,"  persisted  Graham,  spitefully 
pressing  home  his  point.  "  You  want  to  win  'em  all, 
just  like  a  woman,  but  you're  too  clumsy  about  it. 
Anybody  can  see  through  that  sort  of  tommyrot,  if  he 
isn't  a  fool.  So  I  call  them  fools,  and  I  stick  to  it." 

"  With  you  it's  different,"  she  replied,  hesitating 
almost  before  each  word.  "  You  ain't  the  same  kind. 
I  know  it's  foolish,  but  I  can't  help  it,  and  I  don't 
think  I'm  so  much  to  blame.  Perhaps  I  am  trying  to 


AND  GETS    IT   BACK   AGAIN     141 

make  them  like  me.  Is  there  so  much  harm  in  that? 
Nobody  has  ever  liked  me  before.  I  have  no  mother 
and  no  sisters — only  Mike.  I  want  to  be  liked,  and — 
and — I'm  sorry  if  you  don't  think  I  ought  to,  but  it 
can't  be  helped." 

She  looked  out  again  at  the  eagle  slowly  circling 
over  Tom  Custer,  with  eyes  vaguely  troubled.  Graham 
could  examine  her  closely  without  the  danger  of  de 
tection.  He  did  so. 

There  was  something  pathetically  child-like  about 
her  after  all,  something  delicate  in  the  oval  of  her  face 
and  the  sensitive  modelling  of  her  chin,  which  appealed 
to  a  man's  protective  instincts.  Her  eyes  were  so  wide 
and  blue  and  wistful,  and  again  so  pathetically  young, 
like  those  of  a  little  child  gazing  upon  the  shower-wet 
world  from  the  safety  of  a  window.  Graham  suddenly 
realized  that  this  was  no  self-sufficient,  capable  woman 
whom  he  was  so  bluntly  antagonizing,  but  only  a  pina- 
fored  innocent  playing  with  forces  of  which  she  did  not 
know  the  meaning.  He  began  all  at  once  to  feel  sorry 
for  her.  Against  her  probable  future  in  this  rough 
camp,  how  small  the  present  looked,  how  little  were 
her  coquetries,  her  innocent  wiles ! 

She  sighed  almost  inaudibly.  The  eagle  folded  his 
wings  and  dropped  like  a  plummet  from  the  upper  air, 
only  to  swoop  upward  on  outspread  pinions  a  moment 
later. 

Graham  began  to  be  ashamed  of  himself.  His 
thoughts  took  a  new  direction.  He  wondered  what 
her  previous  history,  her  education,  could  have  been. 
Her  face  was  pure,  her  eyes  clear.  Could  she  have 
lived  always  with  the  half-breed?  Both  spoke  Eng 
lish  of  an  excellence  beyond  the  common — in  that 


142  THE   WESTERNERS 

country,  at  least.  Then  he  began  idly  to  watch  the 
sunlight  running  nimbly  up  and  down  a  single  loose 
tress  of  her  hair,  as  the  wind  lifted  it  and  let  it  fall. 

The  girl  turned  and  caught  his  eyes  fairly. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  asked  simply. 

"  I  was  wondering,"  he  replied  with  equal  simplicity, 
"  whether  you  had  always  lived  with  him." 

"  No,"  she  replied,  without  pretending  not  to  under 
stand  the  purport  of  his  question.  Then,  in  the  same 
little  voice,  in  which  was  a  trace,  just  a  trace,  of  an 
infinite  dreariness :  "  I  have  lived  all  my  life  at  an 
Indian  agency.  He  came  and  took  me  away  a  little 
while  ago.  He  is  good  to  me,"  she  said  doubtfully, 
"  and  I  am  glad  to  be  away.  The  agent  was  good  to 
me,  but  there  were  only  a  few  people,  and  I  only  read 
and  read  and  read,  or  rode  and  rode  and  rode,  and 
knew  nothing  at  all  of  people.  I  got  tired  of  it.  No 
body  cared  for  me  there.  Nobody  cares  for  me  any 
where,  I  reckon,  except  Mike,  and  his  caring  for  peo 
ple  doesn't  count  so  very  much." 

She  turned  upon  him  again  that  vaguely  troubled 
gaze,  which  seemed  to  see  him,  and  yet  to  look  beyond 
him. 

"  Poor  little  girl,"  said  Graham,  on  a  sudden  deeply 
moved. 

"  Poor  little  girl !  "  he  repeated  with  infinite  tender 
ness,  and  took  her  idle  hand  in  both  of  his. 

"  Poor  little  girl !  "  he  said  for  the  third  time.  She 
put  her  other  hand  before  her  eyes;  then,  releasing 
herself  gently,  she  rose  and  glided  through  the  door 
without  a  word. 

Once  inside  the  portal  her  eyes  cleared  with  a  snap. 
She  laughed. 


XVII 

BLACK  MIKE  MEETS  AN  OLD  ACQUAINT- 
ANCE  AND  STARTS  A  COLLECTION 

IN  the  course  of  this  same  morning,  Lafond  had 
discovered  an  old  acquaintance. 
He  arose  early,  and  spent  some  time  after 
breakfast  investigating  and  criticising  the  premises. 
Frosty's  administration  had,  it  must  be  confessed, 
been  rather  slack,  and  there  were  many  loose  ends. 
These  Black  Mike  gathered  into  a  cat  o'  nine  tails 
with  which  to  lash  his  subordinate.  After  he  had  done 
more  for  Frosty's  character  in  sixty  minutes  than  that 
young  man,  unaided,  could  have  accomplished  in  as 
many  months,  he  left  the  scene  of  his  reorganizations 
behind,  and  strolled  about  in  the  one  narrow  street  of 
the  village. 

He  soon  saw  all  there  was  to  be  seen  there.  With 
a  vague  idea  of  finding  his  way  to  the  famous  Great 
Snake  Mine,  he  rambled  out  from  the  double  row  of 
log  cabins,  around  the  bend,  and  into  the  lower  gulch. 
He  had  defined  to  himself  two  things  very  clearly — 
that  Billy  Knapp  was  now  easily  the  most  important 
figure  in  the  community,  and  that  a  continuance  of 
this  importance  depended  entirely  on  his  effecting  a 
combination  of  his  group  of  claims  with  Eastern  capi 
tal.  In  the  Black  Hills  nearly  all  of  the  promising 
leads  are  of  quartz,  requiring  in  their  development 
more  expensive  machinery  than  any  ordinary  man  is 
able  to  afford.  Until  the  good  angel  arrives,  they  are 

143 


144  THE   WESTERNERS 

so  much  crumbling  red  rock  or  white  crystal ;  but  with 
the  erection  of  a  stamp  mill,  within  wagon  distance, 
they  become  valuable.  Mike  had  set  himself  to  the 
task  of  depriving  Billy  Knapp  at  once  of  his  property 
and  of  his  prestige ;  but  since  he  could  not  hold  him 
up  at  the  point  of  a  pistol,  as  might  have  been  done 
had  it  been  the  question  of  a  watch  or  a  scarf-pin,  he 
did  not  at  present  see  just  how  it  was  to  be  accom 
plished.  Ruminating  these  matters,  he  found  himself 
all  at  once  in  a  canon  much  grown  with  underbrush, 
full  of  birds,  and  possessing  a  general  air  of  the  gentler 
aspects  of  nature. 

Immediately  before  him  stood  a  double  cabin,  its 
two  parts  connected  by  a  passage  way.  The  founda 
tions  of  its  timbers  were  encircled  by  broad  bands  of 
red  geraniums.  Behind  the  buildings,  chained  to 
posts,  he  perceived  three  wild  animals.  One  was  a 
short,  comical,  and  shaggy  bear ;  the  second,  an  equally 
furry  but  more  eager-looking  raccoon;  the  third,  a 
bobcat  with  tasselled  ears. 

Mike  paused  and  surveyed  them  with  amusement. 
As  he  stood  there  the  door  of  the  cabin  opened  and 
the  owner  stepped  out  into  the  sunshine.  The  half- 
breed  never  forgot  a  face  which  a  vital  incident  had 
impressed  on  his  memory ;  and  though  this  old,  white- 
haired,  mild-eyed  man  had  passed  in  and  out  of  his 
life  in  the  space  of  one  evening  fifteen  years  ago,  La- 
fond  recognized  without  difficulty  the  stranger  whose 
words  had  given  him  so  powerful  an  impetus  toward 
his  new  way  of  life.  It  was  Durand,  the  butterfly 
hunter. 

He  was  little  changed.  And  again  the  coarser  man 
felt,  as  fifteen  years  before,  the  air  of  gentle  and  quaint 


BLACK   MIKE  145 

courtesy,  which  a  keener  observer  would  have  asso 
ciated  with  an  old-fashioned  society  now  quite  passed 
away.  It  should  have  gone  with  ruffles  and  silken 
hose,  with  powdered  hair  and  silver  shoe  buckles. 

The  naturalist  caught  sight  of  the  newcomer  and 
approached. 

u  They  are  quite  gentle,"  he  assured,  explaining  the 
beasts.  He  rubbed  the  heavy  fur  of  the  raccoon  the 
wrong  way.  "  Ah,  Jacques,"  he  said  to  the  little  ani 
mal,  relapsing  quaintly  into  a  sort  of  old-time  speech, 
"  thy  hair  doth  resemble  in  stiffness  of  texture  the 
bristles  of  thine  own  curry  brush." 

The  raccoon  uttered  his  high,  purring  over-note,  and 
seized  the  man's  fingers  with  his  little  black  hands, 
almost  human.  The  bear  waved  his  paws  appealingly. 
The  bobcat  danced  back  and  forth  at  the  end  of  its 
leash.  "  Peace,  my  children,"  chided  the  old  man,  be 
stowing  on  each  a  pat.  "  It  is  not  yet  the  hour  of 
noon."  He  stooped  to  unsnap  the  raccoon's  chain ; 
and  then,  as  though  recalling  the  half-breed's  presence, 
he  turned  with  an  air  of  apology. 

"  You  are  a  stranger  here  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Yes  ?  And 
you  walk  this  morning  for  your  pleasure  ?  Yes  ?  That 
happens  not  often  in  these  parts."  He  went  on,  con 
versing  shyly  but  easily,  with  the  obvious  desire  of 
pleasing  the  half-breed  rather  than  himself.  Lafond 
had  opportunity  to  observe  the  great  solidity  of  the 
logs  composing  the  cabin  walls,  and  to  recognize  that 
the  structure  must  belong  to  the  earlier  period  of  the 
primitive  architecture  of  the  Hills — for  there  are  such 
periods. 

"  You  have  lived  here  long,"  he  suggested,  follow 
ing  out  this  inference. 


146  THE   WESTERNERS 

u  Yes,"  laughed  the  old  man  softly,  "  very  long. 
The  camp  there  came  to  me.  I  was  an  old  timer  when 
the  first  house  was  built." 

After  a  little,  they  entered  the  cabin  together,  and 
Lafond  found  himself  in  a  sheet-ceiled  room,  strewn 
with  all  sorts  of  literary  and  scientific  junk.  The  im 
agination  could  discover  much  food  for  speculation  in 
the  curiosities  literally  heaped  about  the  apartment, 
but  most  wonderful  of  all,  seizing  the  eye,  holding  it 
from  all  else,  were  the  scores  of  shallow  glass-fronted 
boxes  hanging  everywhere  on  the  wall.  They  were 
lined  with  white  paper  pasted  over  a  layer  of  cork.  In 
them,  row  after  row,  were  impaled  butterflies  of  many 
colors.  Thousands  of  the  pretty  insects  were  there 
outspread,  varying  in  size  from  the  tiny  blue  Lycacna 
to  the  great  Trottus  or  the  gorgeous  yellow  and  black 
Timms.  They  were  exquisitely  prepared,  with  just 
the  right  lift  on  the  wings,  just  the  proper  balance  of 
the  long  antennae,  until  it  seemed  that  they  must  be 
on  the  point  of  flight,  and  one  almost  expected  that 
in  another  moment  the  air  would  be  filled  with  a  flut 
tering,  many-hued  splendor. 

The  men  seated  themselves  in  two  home-made 
chairs.  The  raccoon,  evidently  from  old  winter-time 
habit,  waddle^i  in  a  dignified  fashion  to  the  fireless 
stove,  where  he  curled  up  like  a  door-mat  with  keen, 
bright  eyes.  Mike's  gaze  roamed  about  the  apartment. 

"  You  are  a  great  scientist,"  he  observed,  intending 
the  remark  for  a  compliment. 

"  In  a  way,  in  a  way,"  replied  the  old  man  humbly. 
"  One  must  occupy  the  mind  when  one  is  alone,  and 
what  task  more  fitting  to  our  highest  faculties  than 
that  of  investigating,  with  all  due  reverence,  the  work 
ings  of  God's  mechanism  ?  " 


BLACK   MIKE  147 

He  said  it  with  a  simple  piety  which  could  not  pro 
voke  a  smile.  Michail  Lafond  caught  himself  won 
dering  what  he  did  there.  Surely  there  was  nothing 
to  interest  him  in  stuffed  insects  and  a  garrulous  old 
man,  especially  as  the  conversation  insisted  on  retain 
ing  its  formal  footing. 

"  You  are  not  a  miner  ?  "  the  entomologist  inquired, 
after  a  moment's  pause. 

"  No,"  replied  Mike. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  I  like  not  this  eager  scram 
bling  for  what  does  so  little  good.  I  too  once 

But  now  I  am  content ;  yes,  content.  There  is  always 
good  if  one  will  but  find  it.  I  myself  might  with  justice 
be  accused  of  being  a  miner.  I  find  my  leads,  I  develop 
them,  I  assay  my  ores ;  but  always  in  miniature — on  a 
small  scale." 

Then,  in  a  flash,  Michail  Lafond  saw  at  least  the 
outlines  af  his  plan,  and  he  knew  why  he  had  come 
in  here  to  talk  to  the  garrulous  old  man. 

"  You  know  the  assay,  then  ?  "  he  inquired  conversa 
tionally. 

"  In  a  modest  way — a  few  simple  tests." 

"  But  that  is  much.  Do  you  not  know  that  it  is 
at  Rapid,  in  the  School  of  Mines,  that  the  nearest 
assayer  is?  You  have  a  profession  here  at  your 
hands." 

A  sudden  scream  broke  through  the  apartment,  a 
rush  of  wings,  a  growl.  The  old  man  ran  nimbly  to 
the  stove,  and  rescued  the  little  raccoon  from  the  sav 
age  attacks  of  a  magpie.  The  magpie  sailed  back  to 
his  perch  on  one  of  the  butterfly  cases,  where  he 
ruffled  his  feathers  indignantly.  The  raccoon  curled 
up  in  the  old  man's  lap. 


148  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  You  are  French?  "  inquired  the  latter,  with  more 
interest  than  he  had  hitherto  shown. 

"  I  have  some  French  blood,"  replied  Lafond  cau 
tiously. 

"  I  knew  it,"  said  Durand,  immensely  pleased.  "  I 
am  rarely  mistaken.  It  was  a  twist  of  your  words  that 
suggested  it,  an  idiom.  Et  maintenant  nous  pouvons 
causer,"  he  added  in  the  purest  Parisian  accent. 

"  Oui,  oui,  oui"  cried  the  half-breed,  suddenly  swept 
up  by  an  uncontrollable  excitement  he  could  not  him 
self  understand.  "  La  belle  langue!  " 

He  felt  an  unwonted  expansion  of  the  heart  at  thus 
hearing  once  more  the  language  of  his  youth.  The 
formality  of  the  interview  was  gone.  They  conversed 
freely,  swiftly,  animatedly.  Durand  had  been  educated 
in  Paris,  and  had  a  thousand  reminiscences  to  impart. 
He  told  of  many  quaint  customs,  and  Lafond,  with 
growing  emotion,  recalled  similar  or  analogous  cus 
toms  among  his  own  expatriated  branch  of  the  race  in 
the  pine  forests  of  Canada.  His  sullen,  taciturn  man 
ner  broke.  He  became  the  Gaul.  He  gesticulated,  he 
overflowed,  his  eye  lighted  up,  he  said  a  thousand 
things. 

After  a  time  Durand  opened  a  chest  at  the  foot  of 
the  bed,  from  which  he  abstracted  a  bottle  and  two 
long-stemmed  glasses.  These  he  placed  on  the  table 
with  a  quaint  little  air  of  ceremony. 

"  Sir,"  said  he,  "  we  must  know  each  other  better. 
We  speak  each  the  language  we  love.  We  talk  of  old 
days.  Sir,"  he  concluded,  bowing  with  stately  grace 
as  he  poured  the  red  wine  into  the  glasses,  "  I  ask  you 
to  drink  wine  with  me  to  our  acquaintance.  My  name 
is  Durand." 


BLACK   MIKE  149 

He  inclined,  his  hand  to  his  heart,  and  somehow 
there  seemed  to  be  nothing  ridiculous  in  the  act. 

*  I  am  Michail  Lafond,"  replied  the  half-breed 
simply. 

A  silence  fell.  The  realities  came  back  to  Lafond's 
mind. 

"  I  would  ask  you  a  favor,"  he  said  abruptly. 

"  Name  it ;  it  is  yours." 

"  I  want  you  to  teach  me  how  to  make  an  assay." 

"  It  would  be  a  pleasure.    I  will  do  it  gladly." 

"Is  it  difficult?" 

"  Not  very." 

"When  shall  we  begin?" 

"  When  you  say." 

Lafond  reflected.  "  Well,  I  will  bring  some  ore  in 
a  day  or  two."  Then,  after  a  pause,  as  though  in 
deference  to  the  attitude  he  knew  the  old  man  held  in 
regard  to  such  things,  he  added,  "  It  must  be  very  in 
teresting,  this  making  of  gold  from  the  rock." 

"  And  more  interesting  still,"  supplemented  Durand 
gently,  "  is  the  thrill  of  a  shared  thought." 

The  raccoon  stood  on  his  hind  legs  in  his  master's 
lap,  and  began  deliberately  to  investigate  the  contents 
of  his  pockets,  deftly  inserting  his  little  black  hands, 
almost  human,  and  watching  the  man's  face  with  alert 
eyes.  Durand  took  the  animal's  small  head  between 
both  his  palms,  and  smiled  at  him  affectionately. 

"  Ah,  Jacques,  polisson!  Thou  art  a  rogue,  and  dost 
learn  early  what  thy  master's  race  doth  teach.  See, 
Lafond,  how  the  little  villain  would  even  now  rob  the 
very  one  who  doth  give  to  him  his  daily  bread  and  all 
that  which  he  hath."  He  softly  rubbed  the  small,  black 
nose  with  the  flat  of  his  palm,  much  to  its  owner's 


150  THE  WESTERNERS 

disgust.  Jacques  backed  off  deliberately  to  the  floor, 
where  he  sneezed  violently,  while  Durand  gazed  at  him 
with  a  kindly  smile. 

After  leaving  the  cabin,  Black  Mike  no  longer 
slouched  along  unseeing.  He  burned  with  the  inspira 
tion  of  an  idea.  Just  where  the  idea  would  lead  him, 
or  how  it  would  work  out  in  its  final  processes,  he  did 
not  know ;  but  he  had  long  since  grown  accustomed  to 
relying  blindly  on  such  exaltations  of  confidence  as 
the  present,  sure  that  details  would  develop  when 
needed.  He  believed  in  letting  the  pot  boil. 

Through  the  town  he  walked  with  brisk,  business 
like  steps,  out  into  the  higher  gulch.  There  he  soon 
came  upon  signs  of  industry.  Up  a  hill  he  could  hear 
the  ring  of  axes  and  the  occasional  rush  of  a  falling 
tree,  sounding  like  grouse  diumming  in  the  spring. 
He  followed  the  sound.  Half  way  up  the  knoll,  he  dis 
covered  a  cabin  and  three  shafts.  A  rude  sign  an 
nounced  that  this  represented  the  surface  property  of 
the  Great  Snake  Mining  and  Milling  Company.  La- 
fond  halted  abruptly  when  he  saw  the  sign.  For  per 
haps  half  an  hour  he  looked  over,  with  the  eye  of  a 
connoisseur,  the  three  piles  of  ore  at  the  mouths  of 
the  three  shafts,  approving  silently  of  the  evidence  of 
slate  walls,  crumbling  between  his  strong  fingers  the 
oxygenated  quartz,  putting  his  tongue  to  the  harder 
specimens  to  bring  out  their  color  by  moisture,  gazing 
with  some  curiosity  at  the  darker  hornblende.  Finally 
he  selected  a  number  of  the  smaller  specimens,  with 
which  he  filled  the  ample  pockets  of  his  shooting-coat. 
After  this  he  returned  to  town  and  the  Little  Nugget 
saloon,  where  he  emptied  his  pockets  on  the  bar. 

"  Get  some  of  that  packin'  stuff  out  behind,"  he  com- 


BLACK   MIKE  151 

manded  Frosty,  "  and  with  it  construct  a  shelf  there 
by  the  mirror." 

He  stood  over  Frosty  while  the  latter,  frightened 
into  clumsiness,  hammered  his  ringers,  the  wall,  the 
rude  shelf,  anything  but  the  nail.  Finally,  Lafond 
thrust  him  aside  with  a  curse,  and  finished  the  job  him 
self.  On  the  completed  shelf  he  ranged  about  half  of 
the  specimens  which  he  had  picked  up  from  the  ore 
dumps.  Beneath  these  he  tacked  a  label,  indicating 
that  they  were  from  the  Great  Snake  Mine. 

Then  he  joined  Jack  Graham  outside,  and  settled 
down  to  watch  the  group  of  men  engaged  in  l?ying 
the  foundation  timbers  of  a  new  log  shack. 


XVIII 

• 

TIRED   WINGS 

IN  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  had  laughed  at  Graham's 
blindness  in  falling  into  her  trap,  Molly  Lafond  felt 
enough  curiosity  to  induce  her  to  enter  into  several 
conversations  with  him  during  the  course  of  that  after 
noon.  He  sat  by  the  door  whistling.  Out  in  the  sun 
the  men  cut  logs,  notched  ends,  heaved  and  pushed. 
The  girl  alternated  between  personal  encouragement 
of  the  workers,  and  a  curious  examination  of  the  idler. 
Graham  interested  her  because  he  puzzled  her.  The 
young  man  no  longer  held  to  the  quizzical  and  cynical 
attitude  he  had  assumed  in  the  morning,  but  neither 
did  he  at  once  manifest  that  personal  interest  which 
she  had  imagined  inevitable.  He  caught  at  her  state 
ment  that  she  had  done  nothing  but  "  read,  read,  read." 
In  the  course  of  twenty  minutes  he  had  made  her  most 
keenly  aware  of  her  deficiencies,  and  that  without  the 
display  of  any  other  motive  than  a  frank  desire  to  dis 
cuss  the  extent  of  her  knowledge.  He  opened  to  her 
fields  whose  existence  she  had  never  suspected;  he 
showed  her  that  she  had  but  superficially  examined 
those  she  had  entered.  Authors  she  had  much  admired 
he  disposed  of  cavalierly,  and  in  their  stead  substituted 
others  of  whom  she  had  never  heard. 

"  I  like  Bulwer,"  she  remarked,  secure  in  her  classic 
because  it  had  been  the  only  one  of  Sweeney's  collec 
tion  to  come  in  a  set  and  bound  in  brown  leather. 
"  Bulwer,    yes,"    said    Graham,    pulling    his    little 
152 


TIRED  WINGS  153 

moustache,  and  speaking,  as  his  habit  sometimes  was, 
more  to  himself  than  to  his  companion.  "  We  all  go 
through  that  stage,  but  we  get  over  it  after  awhile. 
You  see,  he's  superficial  and  awfully  pedantic.  There 
is  much  beauty  in  it,  too.  I  remember  in  one  of  his 
novels — I  forget  which — there  is  a  picture  of  a  child 
tossing  her  ball  skyward,  with  eyes  turned  upward  to 
the  skies,  that  is  worth  a  good  deal." 

"  It's  in  What  Will  He  Do  zvith  It?  "  cried  Molly, 
aglow  at  being  able  to  interpolate  correctly. 

"  Yes,"  assented  Graham,  indifferently.  "  It  has 
something  to  do  with  youth,  I  think.  Before  our 
critical  judgment  grows  up  and  finds  him  out,  there 
is  a  peculiar  elevation  about  Bulwer's  themes  and 
treatment.  His  world  is  blown ;  but  it  is  big,  and 
his  figures  have  a  certain  scornful  nobility  about  them. 
If  I  were  to  compete  with  the  gentleman  under  dis 
cussion,"  he  concluded,  with  a  slight  laugh,  "  I  would 
say  that  he  throws  upon  the  true  gold  of  youthful  ideals, 
hopes,  and  dreams,  the  light  of  his  own  tinsel." 

Molly  was  subdued,  humbled.  She  was  deprived 
at  a  stroke  of  all  her  weapons.  For  the  first  time 
she  found  herself  looking  up  to  a  man,  and  wonder 
ing  whether  she  could  ever  meet  him  on  terms  of 
equality.  She  caught  herself  covertly  scrutinizing 
Graham  to  see  if  he  too  realized  his  advantage.  He 
was  genuinely  interested ;  that  was  all.  He  seemed 
to  take  it  for  granted  that  she  was  already  on  his  level. 
This  encouraged  her  somewhat. 

Whenever  she  again  joined  the  group  of  sweating 
men  at  work  on  her  house,  she  felt  subtly  that  she 
was  returning  from  a  far  country.  She  had  brought 
back  with  her  something  new.  The  nature  of  the  con- 


154  THE   WESTERNERS 

versation  had  lifted  her  to  the  contemplation  of  fresh 
possibilities  of  human  intercourse.  With  a  defiant 
toss  of  the  head  she  indulged  herself  to  the  extent  of 
imagining  several  Bulwer-like  conversations,  in  which 
she  dealt  out  brilliant  generalities  to  the  universal  ap 
plause.  It  was  the  first  flight  her  wings  had  essayed ; 
the  first  charm  not  merely  physical  that  she  had  expe 
rienced  with  one  of  the  other  sex.  She  felt  she  was 
going  to  like  this  man  Graham. 

And  yet  that  very  elation  was  one  of  the  reasons 
why,  after  dinner  in  the  "  hotel,''  she  walked  with  Billy 
Knapp,  although  Graham  was  plainly  waiting  for  her. 
It  had  been  her  first  flight ;  her  wings  were  tired.  The 
reaction  had  come. 

The  dinner  itself,  and  its  manner,  had  much  to  do 
with  bringing  this  to  her  consciousness.  Entering 
at  one  end  of  the  hotel  dining-room,  she  first  became 
aware  of  the  cook  stove  at  the  other,  and,  behind  it, 
tins.  Down  the  centre  extended  the  three  bench- 
flanked  board  tables,  polished  smooth  by  the  combined 
influences  of  spilled  grease  and  much  rubbing.  At  cer 
tain  short  intervals  had  been  stationed  tin  plates,  over 
each  of  which  were  stacked,  pyramid  fashion,  an  iron 
knife,  fork  and  spoon.  Tin  cups  spaced  the  plates. 
Down  the  centre  of  each  table  were  distributed  thick 
white  china  receptacles  containing  sugar,  lumpy  and 
brown  with  coffee ;  salt ;  and  butter  on  the  point  of 
melting.  At  dinner-time  the  cook  placed  between 
these  receptacles  capacious  tins,  steaming  respec 
tively,  with  fried  and  boiled  pork,  boiled  potatoes,  corn- 
meal  mush,  and  canned  tomatoes  ;  besides  corn  bread, 
soda  biscuits,  and  a  small  quantity  of  milk  for  the  cof 
fee.  Then,  wiping  his  glistening  face  on  the  red- 


TIRED   WINGS  155 

checked  little  towel  that  hung  at  his  waist,  he  entered 
the  "  office  "  and,  seizing  a  huge  bell,  clanged  forth, 
now  to  the  right,  now  to  the  left,  that  his  meal  was 
ready. 

The  men  ate  in  their  shirt  sleeves,  those  farthest 
half  obscured  by  the  clouds  of  steam  from  the  uncov 
ered  dishes.  The  cook  stove,  the  dishes,  and  the  men 
heated  the  low  unventilated  room  almost  to  suffoca 
tion.  They  gobbled  their  food  rapidly,  taking  noisy 
swigs  of  the  coffee  from  the  tin  cups.  As  each  finished, 
he  wiped  his  plate  clean  with  the  soft  inside  of  a  soda 
biscuit,  drew  his  knife  across  the  bread  once  or  twice, 
swallowed  the  gravy-laden  biscuit  at  one  mouthful,  and 
departed  without  further  ceremony  into  the  outer  air. 

It  was  all  thoroughly  Western,  thoroughly  material, 
thoroughly  restful  to  tired  wings. 

As  the  meal  progressed,  the  exaltation  faded  slowly. 
Molly  received  the  assiduous  attentions  of  everybody. 
After  dinner,  as  has  been  said,  she  and  the  wonderful 
Billy  Knapp  disappeared  into  the  twilight,  leaving  the 
disconsolate  miners  to  find  their  way  to  the  Little  Nug 
get  when  it  pleased  them  to  do  so. 

Billy  talked.  He  poured  out  his  confidences.  He 
told  how  great  was  Billy,  how  bright  were  Billy's 
prospects,  how  important  were  Billy's  responsibilities. 
He  was  glad  to  show  this  young  girl  the  town  ;  it  was 
Billy's  town.  He  was  pleased  to  tell  her  the  names  of 
the  hills  hereabouts ;  these  hills  concealed  within  their 
depths  the  veins  of  Billy's  lodes.  He  delighted  in  giv 
ing  the  history  of  the  men  they  met;  for  these  men 
looked  up  to  Billy  as  the  architect  of  their  future  fort 
unes.  He  spoke  enthusiastically  of  the  prospects. 

"  Thar  is  a  lode,"  said  he  earnestly,  "  over  on  the 


156  THE   WESTERNERS 

J.  G.  fraction  that's  shore  th'  purtiest  bit  of  quartz 
lead  you  ever  see.  The  walls  is  all  of  slate,  running 
jest 's  slick  side  by  side,  with  a  clear  vein  between  'em, 
and  she'll  run  'way  up,  free  millin'.  I  tell  you  what, 
Miss  Molly,  thar's  big  money  in  it,  thar  shorely  is ! 
When  I  get  those  Easte'n  capitalists  interested,  and 
ready  to  put  a  little  salt  in,  and  git  up  a  few  mills  and 
necessary  buildin's,  you'll  jest  see  things  hummin'  in 
this  yar  kentry." 

Out  of  the  darkness  a  silent  little  figure  glided  and 
fell  in  step  with  the  girl. 

"  Hullo,  bub,"  said  Billy  indifferently,  and  went  on 
to  tell  what  he  was  going  to  do.  Billy  had  great  plans. 

Molly  said  nothing  to  the  new  member  of  their 
party,  but  she  reached  out  her  hand  and  patted  the 
little  cotton-covered  shoulder.  She  looked  about  at 
the  dark  town  and  the  hills,  and  drew  a  deep  breath. 
This  was  real,  tangible.  She  felt  at  home  in  it,  and 
she  was  adequate  to  all  that  its  conditions  might  bring 
forth.  Above  all,  she  was  confident  here.  Graham  and 
his  ideas  seemed  to  her  at  the  moment  quite  nebulous 
and  phantom-like. 

"  Let's  go  to  the  Little  Nugget,"  she  suggested 
suddenly. 

They  turned  to  retrace  their  steps.  As  they  passed 
an  open  doorway,  a  big  man  darted  out  with  unnatural 
agility  and  seized  the  Kid  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  miss,  whom  I  am  overjoyed 
to  meet.  Standing  as  I  do  in  loco  parentis,  the  claims 
of  the  rising  generation  constrain  me  to  postpone  that 
more  intimate  acquaintance  which  your  attractions  de 
mand  of  my  desire.  Come  along  here,  you  !  "  and  he 
dragged  the  K;«*-  struggling  and  crying  out,  into  the 
dark  cabin. 


TIRED   WINGS  157 

"  Ain't  he  great  ?  "  cried  Billy,  with  real  enthusiasm. 
"  Ain't  he  just  ?  They  ain't  a  man  in  th'  whole  North 
west  as  can  sling  the  langwidge  that  man  can  when  he 
tries.  You  just  ought  to  see  him  when  he  cuts  loose, 
you  just  ought." 

"Who  is  he?  "asked  Molly. 

"  Him  ?    What,  him  ?    He's  Moroney !  " 

His  tone  denied  the  need  of  further  question.  They 
entered  the  saloon. 

The  first  half  hour  of  Molly's  evening  in  the  Little 
Nugget  was  constrained.  Up  to  this  point  she  had 
met  the  men  of  the  camp  under  extraordinary  circum 
stances.  Now  she  was  called  upon  to  face  them  in 
their  time  of  relaxation  and  accustomed  comfort. 
Such  moments  of  leisure  crystallize  for  us  men  every 
where  our  opinions  of  people.  Anybody  is  welcome  to 
sail  with  us,  hunt  with  us,  fish  with  us,  ride  with  us, 
work  with  us,  provided  he  is  personally  agreeable  and 
understands  the  game.  We  are  not  so  undiscriminat- 
ing  when  it  comes  to  a  study  fire  and  an  easy  chair. 
Translate  the  study  fire  and  the  easy  chair  to  the  Lit 
tle  Nugget  and  a  quiet  game,  and  you  will  see  one 
reason  for  the  constraint.  No  unkindness  was  in 
tended.  The  situation  was  merely,  but  inevitably,  awk 
ward  for  everybody. 

In  such  emergencies  as  this,  where  a  creature  of 
coarser  fibre  would  fail,  Molly's  hereditary  fineness  of 
instinct  stood  her  in  good  stead.  She  saw  intuitively 
the  attitude  she  should  take.  In  the  first  place,  she 
held  herself  in  the  background,  left  the  lead  to  others, 
behaved  as  if  she  suspected  herself  of  being  an  in 
truder  ;  so  that  the  men  suddenly  felt  themselves  very 
paternal  and  adoptive. 


158  THE  WESTERNERS 

In  the  second  place,  she  encouraged  them  to  show 
off;  which  they  did  with  the  utmost  heartiness.  The 
first  embarrassment  wore  away  before  long,  and  Molly 
took  her  place  in  the  corner  of  the  bar  with  the  tacit 
approval  of  every  man  in  the  room. 

The  remainder  of  the  evening  was  enjoyable. 
Some  features  of  it  would  scarcely  have  impressed  a 
refined  Easterner  favorably,  for  these  were  rough  men, 
with  crude  tastes  and  passions.  Once  having  accepted 
the  girl  as  one  of  themselves,  they  lapsed  to  some 
•extent,  though  not  entirely,  into  their  accustomed  man 
ner.  It  is  a  little  difficult  sometimes  to  interpret  the 
West  in  terms  of  the  East.  An  act  which  in  the  older 
country  would  be  significant  of  too  licensed  freedom, 
on  the  frontier  is  a  matter  of  course.  Everything  de 
pends  on  the  point  of  view  and  the  attitude  of  mind. 

Around  Molly  Lafond  seethed  a  constantly  chang 
ing  group  of  men.  They  joked  boisterously  at  one 
another  and  at  her.  The  standard  of  wit  was  the  say 
ing  of  insulting  things  with  a  laugh  that  showed  that 
the  remark  held  in  itself  something  of  facetious  sar 
casm.  Through  thinner  skins  it  would  have  bitten 
•cruelly.  Behind  this  lively  group  sat  another,  more 
silent,  smoking  the  amused  pipe  of  contemplation,  all 
alert  to  the  chances  of  conversational  battle,  ready  to 
jump  up  and  enter  the  lists  whenever  a  bright  idea  sug 
gested  itself.  In  the  corner  just  behind  the  bar,  lurked 
Black  Mike,  keeping  a  sinister  eye  on  Frosty's  dispen 
sations.  The  faro  dealer  called  his  cards  imperturba- 
bly  over  his  scantily  patronized  game.  Occasionally 
someone,  glowing  with  the  good-natured  excitement 
of  jesting,  would  break  away  from  the  laughing  group, 
and,  standing  the  while,  would  stake  a  few  red  chips  on 
a  turn  or  so  of  the  cards. 


TIRED   WINGS  159 

Peter,  obsessed  of  some  sudden  and  doggish  af 
fection,  ceased  his  restless  wanderings.  He  took  up 
his  position,  resting  on  one  hip,  both  hind  legs  to  one 
side,  directly  beneath  Molly's  feet.  There  his  shaggy 
head  was  of  such  a  height  that  the  girl  could  just 
reach  it  with  the  point  of  her  shoe.  From  time  to 
time,  when  the  exigency  demanded  such  a  pose,  she 
looked  down  prettily,  and  stirred  the  animal's  button 
ears  with  her  little  foot.  On  such  occasions  Peter 
gravely  rolled  his  eyes  upward  and  wriggled  his  stump 
of  a  tail. 

A  young  fellow  by  the  name  of  Dave  Kelly  stood 
nearest  her.  He  was  a  handsome  young  fellow,  with 
a  laughing  boyish  face.  As  time  went  on,  he  became 
more  and  more  elated  and  sure  of  himself.  Occasion 
ally,  when  the  press  of  men  behind  would  push  him 
forward,  he  would  reach  across  the  girl  to  regain  his 
balance.  Once  he  put  his  hand  lightly  on  the  point 
of  her  shoulder.  He  paused,  with  a  strange  delicious 
thrill  at  the  feel  of  the  round  young  arm  under  the  loose 
stuff  of  the  gown,  which  slipped  beneath  his  grasp  ta 
emphasize  the  smoothness  of  the  skin.  Aware  of  the 
touch,  she  looked  toward  him  for  a  minute,  laughing. 
Somehow  it  gave  him  a  strange  feeling  of  intimacy 
with  her,  inexplicable,  subtle.  Without  knowing  why 
he  did  so,  he  felt  his  own  shoulder  underneath  his 
loose  flannel  shirt.  It  gave  the  same  impression,  only 
rougher,  coarser. 

There  suddenly  sprang  into  his  mind  a  sense  of 
physical  kinship  between  himself  and  her.  He  took 
frequent  opportunities  of  repeating  the  contact,  always 
lightly,  always  with  the  same  delicious  thrill.  At  each 
touch  the  girl  turned  to  him  for  a  vaguely  smiling  in- 


160  THE   WESTERNERS 

stant.  She  was  absorbed  in  the  men  about  her.  The 
youth  at  her  side  had  fallen  silent,  but  her  good  nature 
extended  to  everybody. 

Late  in  the  evening  somebody  suggested  that  Frosty 
had  been  singularly  unemployed.  Glasses  were  filled. 
Molly's  was  handed  to  her. 

"  I  don't  want  any,"  said  she. 

"  It'll  do  y'  good,"  "  Try  her,"  "  Aw,  come  on !  " 
urged  a  dozen  voices. 

She  sipped  a  little.  It  tasted  to  her  like  liquid  fire, 
with  a  strange  gagging  property  as  it  reached  the 
region  of  the  epiglottis.  She  sputtered  and  choked. 

"  Ugh !  "  she  shuddered.  "  Ugh  !  I  couldn't  get  a 
glass  of  that  stuff  down  if  it  killed  me."  She  shut  her 
eyes  and  shivered  with  a  pretty  disgust.  "  I  simply 
can't,"  she  repeated. 

"  Ain't  ye  got  anything  else,  Frosty  ?  "  they  cried 
reproachfully.  "  That  stuff's  purty  rank  fer  a  lady, 
that's  right.  Skirmish  around  thar,  an'  see  what  y' 
kin  discover." 

Frosty  skirmished  around,  and  finally  bobbed  up, 
red-faced,  with  a  bottle  of  some  light  wine.  Molly 
drank  this  slowly,  with  little  more  satisfaction.  Some 
people  never  care  for  the  taste  of  anything  with  alcohol 
in  it,  and  the  cheap  wine  had  more  than  the  suspicion 
of  a  wire  edge.  But  she  liked  the  warm  glow  that  fol 
lowed,  and  she  found  that  in  a  moment  or  so  she  was 
much  pleased  with  herself. 

"  Give  me  another  of  those,"  she  smiled  to  Frosty, 
holding  out  the  empty  glass.  The  men  chuckled. 
This  was  something  like. 

Molly  drank  the  other  glass.  In  a  few  minutes  she 
felt  sleepy.  "  I'm  going  to  turn  in,"  she  said  abruptly, 


TIRED   WINGS  161 

and  slid  down  on  the  unsuspecting  Peter.  They  dis 
entangled  the  trouble  with  merriment.  Molly  consoled 
Peter.  The  room  was  full  of  noise  and  light. 

"  May  I  take  you  over  ?  "  Kelly  was  asking  in  her 
ear.  She  nodded  assent.  The  other  men  looked 
chagrined.  It  had  not  occurred  to  them. 

Dave  Kelly  and  Molly  stepped  gayly  from  the 
heated,  garish  saloon  into  the  still  night.  The  con 
trast  made  them  feel  yet  gayer.  They  remarked  on 
the  stars  and  the  moon,  to  do  which  it  became  nec 
essary  to  look  upward  and  slacken  their  steps.  He  was 
very  close  to  her.  He  slipped  his  arm  about  her  waist, 
his  great  hand  resting  firmly  beneath  her  small  bust, 
and  they  stumbled  on  together  in  breathless  silence. 
He  felt  very  bold  and  elated  and  happy. 

Suddenly  she  looked  down  with  an  air  of  mock  sur 
prise.  "  What  is  this  ?  "  she  cried,  lifting  one  of  Dave's 
fingers  and  letting  it  fall.  "  Why,  it  looks  like  your 
hand ! " 

"  That's  so !  "  grinned  Dave. 

"  I  wonder  how  that  could  have  got  there !  " 

Dave,  finding  himself  unequal  to  persiflage,  made 
no  reply.  She  nestled  up  to  him  a  little  and  sighed. 
She  liked  it.  She  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  there 
was  anything  out  of  the  way  in  it.  Why  should  she  ? 
Morals,  as  we  understand  them,  she  had  never  been 
taught.  They  slowly  approached  the  wagon,  which 
during  the  day  had  been  dragged  to  a  less  conspicuous 
but  more  distant  locality. 

Ah,  Molly,  Molly,  those  wings  are  very  tired ! 

At  the  moment  when  Kelly  first  pressed  the  girl 
to  him,  he  experienced  a  sudden  lessening  of  her  charm. 
It  was  not  that  she  was  less  feminine,  or  that,  in  his 


1 62  THE   WESTERNERS 

eyes,  she  had  lost  any  moral  excellence  by  her  easy 
surrender.  Dave  had  probably  as  rudimentary  ideas 
of  the  finer  moralities  as  Molly  herself.  But  one  very 
definite  element  of  her  attraction  had  been  given  up — 
that  of  mystery,  of  remoteness,  of  difference  between 
herself  and  him.  She  was  no  longer  a  creature  of  a 
wonderful  and  other  sphere;  she  had  become  the 
female  of  his  species. 

All  this  was  subtle  and  slight  and  quite  unappre 
ciated  and  unanalyzed  by  Dave  himself.  But  the  keen 
intuition  of  the  girl  discovered  it.  She  felt  the  differ 
ence.  Suddenly  she  became  aware  of  the  fact  that 
whatever  a  woman  gives  to  a  man  takes  something 
from  her  attraction,  and  adds  something  to  his.  With 
the  discovery,  she  resolutely  put  his  hand  away. 

"  That's  enough  of  that,"  she  said  in  the  sensible 
voice  which  some  women  use  so  effectually. 

Dave,  unwilling  to  let  the  sensation  go  before  he 
had  drained  it,  attempted  to  seize  her  by  force.  She 
slipped  away  and  ran  like  a  deer  to  her  wagon,  gleam 
ing  white  through  the  darkness.  Dave  sprang  in  pur 
suit.  At  the  instant  Peter,  who  had  followed  unper- 
ceived,  leaped  with  a  growl  and  fastened  his  teeth  into 
Dave's  cowhide  boot.  The  miner  paused  a  moment 
undecided,  and  then,  his  natural  good  nature  coming 
to  his  rescue,  he  laughed.  An  answering  laugh  echoed 
from  the  direction  of  the  wagon. 

"  That's  a  pretty  trick,"  he  called,  trying  to  disen 
gage  Peter's  jaws.  Peter  shook  his  head  savagely  and 
growled. 

"  You  ought  to  learn  to  run,"  came  the  voice  from 
the  safety  of  the  wagon. 

"  Run !  "  laughed  Dave.    "  Run  with  a  dawg  hang- 


TIRED   WINGS  163 

in'  to  you?  Call  him  and  see  if  you  can  get  him  to 
leave  go." 

"  Dog?  "  repeated  the  voice  in  puzzled  tones. 

"  Yes,  dog — this  yere  Peter.  He  seems  to  have  took 
up  with  you-all.  He's  got  me  by  th'  laig !  " 

Molly  reappeared  cautiously.  Then  she  saw  Peter, 
and  advanced  boldly.  The  two  young  people  looked 
at  the  eager  and  determined  little  dog,  and  laughed 
with  great  good  nature.  Their  crisis  had  passed,  fortu 
nately  without  harm  to  either.  Molly  took  Peter  by 
the  collar.  Peter  at  once  let  go. 

"  Good  night,"  said  Molly  decidedly  to  Dave. 

"  Good  night,"  said  Dave,  and  turned  back. 

Molly  walked  on  to  the  wagon,  closely  followed  by 
Peter.  As  she  climbed  in,  she  turned  and  caught  sight 
of  the  little  animal,  eyeing  her  wistfully. 

"  Want  to  come  in?  "  said  she. 

Peter  jumped  to  the  whiffletree,  then  upon  the  seat, 
then  into  the  wagon.  Molly  followed. 

"  Peter,"  said  she,  "  we  won't  do  that  any  more.  I 
don't  believe  it's  a  good  scheme.  What  do  vou  think, 
dog?" 

Peter  wagged  his  stump  of  a  tail,  but  as  it  was  quite 
dark,  this  expression  of  approval  was  lost.  "  I  hope 
he  won't  say  anything  about  it,"  she  went  on  reflec 
tively.  "  But  if  he  does  " — she  tossed  her  head — 
"  much  good  may  it  do  any  of  them !  "  Then,  after 
some  time,  "  Peter,  let's  go  to  sleep." 

Peter  whined  with  content. 


XIX 

THE   BROAD   WHITE   ROAD 

COPPER  CREEK  had  begun  as  a  half-way 
house,  and  had  ended  as  a  camp.  Thus  the  hotel 
was  its  oldest  structure. 

Situated  about  half  way  between  Rockerville  and 
Custer,  on  the  old  Spring  Creek  trail,  it  often  hap 
pened  that  the  stage  running  from  Rapid  to  the  last- 
named  town  would  stop  for  the  evening  meal,  or  even 
for  the  night,  at  the  little  log  structure  which  Bill 
Martin  had  been  sagacious  enough  to  erect  there.  The 
soil  was  good  for  potatoes,  which  was  lucky,  for  Bill 
Martin  could  never  have  prospered  as  a  hotel  keeper 
pure  and  simple;  because  purity,  simplicity,  and  tem 
perance  principles  have  nothing  to  do  with  a  Western 
inn.  Bill  cooked,  made  beds,  and  raised  potatoes. 
Then  a  fortuitous  "  grub  staker  "  discovered  the  Great 
Snake  lode.  A  town  sprang  up  in  the  night,  so  Bill 
Martin  hired  Black  Jack  and  built  additions.  And 
finally,  since  his  food  was  good  and  cheap,  it  came  to 
be  the  proper  thing  to  eat  late  dinners  at  two  dollars  a 
week  in  the  long  dining-room  of  Bill  Martin's  new 
building.  After  the  Little  Nugget,  a  later  but  more 
enterprising  venture,  Bill  Martin's  Prairie  Dog,  with 
its  small  office,  its  big  eating  room,  its  little  square  bed 
rooms  above  the  office,  and  its  ancient  and  musty  copies 
of  distant  journals,  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  most 
important  institution  of  the  place. 

From  the  narrow,  roofless  stoop  its  proprietor 
164 


THE  BROAD  WHITE   ROAD      165 

looked  out  tranquilly  on  the  growth  of  the  camp.  He 
was  a  tall,  cadaverous,  facetious  individual,  slightly 
stooped,  with  thin  impassive  face,  deep  eyes,  and  a 
beard  that  seemed  always  just  two  days  old.  He  spoke 
with  a  drawl  that  was  at  first  natural,  but  later,  as  the 
quaint  old  fellow  grew  to  appreciate  its  humorous 
qualities,  it  took  on  a  faint  color  of  affectation.  He 
adopted  always  the  paternal  attitude,  as  was  clearly 
his  right. 

Bill  Martin  was  probably  the  only  man  who  could 
have  told  you  the  history  of  Copper  Creek,  for  he  had 
been,  through  all  of  its  changes  of  population,  the  one 
stable  character.  First  came  the  original  "  grub  stak- 
er  "  and  a  score  more  like  him — impecunious,  giving, 
many  of  them,  their  labor  and  experience,  in  exchange 
for  tools  and  provisions  furnished  them  by  a  speculator 
in  the  towns.  The  speculator  took  half  of  what  was 
found.  These  men  were  hardy,  bold,  enduring,  skilful. 
They  grubbed  about  in  the  hills  with  the  keen  restless 
instinct  of  ants  over  a  mould  of  earth,  moving  rapidly, 
pausing  often,  lighting  finally,  with  an  accuracy  that 
to  the  outsider  would  have  seemed  something  preter 
natural,  on  the  one  quartz  vein  of  the  many,  or  the 
one  significant  lead  in  the  multitude  of  systems  that 
seamed  the  country  in  all  directions.  Thereupon  they 
staked  out  claims  with  white  pine  posts,  and  blasted 
little  troughs  to  show  milk-white  quartz  or  red  ore 
filling.  And  finally  they  disappeared,  like  bats  before 
daylight,  leaving  not  an  echo  of  themselves  to  recall 
their  presence  to  the  hills  in  which  they  had  toiled. 

Their  places  were  taken  by  the  speculator,  the  miner 
with  a  little  money,  the  small  capitalist  willing  to  in 
vest  and  not  unwilling  to  work  with  his  own  hands. 


166  THE   WESTERNERS 

These  men  paid  a  certain  modest  amount  to  the  first 
discoverers  for  the  chance  to  take  chances  on  the  em 
bryo  mines.  The  prospector  never  had  the  patience 
to  wait,  or  scheme,  or  develop,  to  the  justification  of  a 
better  price.  The  excitement  of  the  chase  was  his. 
He  was  a  master  who  sketched,  in  bold  comprehensive 
strokes,  the  design  of  a  work  which  men  patient  in 
the  little  details  must  fill  in  with  color  and  value.  Hav 
ing  thus  outlined  the  lifetimes  of  men,  the  prosperity 
of  the  whole  great  industry  that  was  to  be,  he  was  con 
tent  to  move  on  to  where  a  new  and  virgin  country 
offered  a  fresh  canvas  to  his  creative  genius.  He  was 
always  poor,  but  he  never  pitied  himself. 

The  new  owner,  then,  represented  the  investor.  He 
expected  no  immediate  returns.  He  was  willing  to 
wait.  Meanwhile  he  spent  as  much  time  in  going  over 
the  fifty  thousand  square  yards  of  his  one  claim  as 
his  predecessor  had  in  examining  the  whole  twenty- 
five  hundred  square  miles  of  the  district.  He  care 
fully  analyzed  the  lead,  its  tendencies,  its  virtues,  its 
defects.  When  he  had  fully  satisfied  his  mind,  he  sank 
neat,  square-timbered  shafts,  from  fifty  to  two  hundred 
feet  in  depth,  from  which  ramified  tunnels,  both  across 
and  along  the  drift.  The  debris  he  piled  outside,  with 
out  attempting  to  save  its  value.  In  this  manner,  grad 
ually,  he  came  to  possess  points  of  view  from  which 
the  next  purchaser  of  the  claim  could  plainly  see  its 
worth  and  possibilities. 

For  this  second  proprietor  never  expected  to  make 
his  profit  from  the  ore.  That  accrued  later,  and  to 
another  man.  When  the  country  became  a  little 
known,  the  other  man  would  happen  along ;  he,  in  his 
turn,  would  be  willing  to  invest;  and  the  present 


THE   BROAD   WHITE   ROAD      167 

holder  of  the  property,  the  middleman  in  this  queerly 
constructed  industry,  could  measure  the  success  of  his 
undertaking  by  the  difference  between  the  price  he 
had  paid  to  the  original  "  grub  staker  "  and  the  price 
he  now  received  from  the  future  developer.  Mean 
while,  he  worked  hard  with  his  hands. 

Thus  the  camp  presented  the  phenomenon  of  a  com 
munity  prospering  on  nothing  more  tangible  than 
hope.  When  the  cabins  began  to  crowd  thicker  and 
thicker  between  the  walls  of  the  little  gulch,  Bill  Mar 
tin  had  been  forced  to  give  up  agriculture  because  of 
lack  of  room ;  so  that  Copper  Creek  produced  abso 
lutely  nothing,  not  even  potatoes.  Every  cent  of  its 
present  and  actual  value  came  from  outside,  either 
with  the  men  themselves,  or  with  some  investor  who 
brought  in  the  price  of  wages  for  a  contemplated  im 
provement.  Only  as  long  as  there  existed  in  men's 
minds  the  comparative  certainty  of  a  future  stamp 
mill,  by  which  the  quartz  could  be  made  to  give  up  its 
treasure,  would  the  machinery  of  life  run  well.  Hope 
depended  on  confidence. 

The  miners  built  themselves  cabins  in  which  to  live, 
and  so  there  came  into  being  a  town.  It  was  a  dusty, 
new  little  town  ;  but  venerable  in  its  age — old  air  from 
the  first.  The  cabins  themselves  were  low  and  dark, 
flanking  the  street  closely,  a  sort  of  monotone  of  brown, 
by  which  the  stable,  the  saloon,  and  the  hotel  were 
thrown  into  stronger  relief;  the  one  by  virtue  of  its 
wide-open  door,  the  other  two  because  of  their  porch 
and  painted  front  respectively.  These  structures  held 
the  eye.  One  noticed  the  cane  chairs  on  the  stoop ; 
the  bench  outside  the  saloon ;  the  dumped  down  sad 
dles,  the  hay  dust,  the  lazy  loafers  about  the  stable. 


168  THE   WESTERNERS 

And  always  one  drew  aside  instinctively  to  the  edge 
of  the  broad,  white,  dusty  street,  as  if  to  let  pass  a  horse 
race,  or  a  train  of  cars,  or  something  equally  swift  and 
irresistible. 

The  camp  lived  on  each  side  of  that  river  of  blinding 
white;  never  in  it.  Later,  perhaps,  when  Copper 
Creek  reached  the  industrial  or  producing  stage,  and 
became  domestic,  it  would  be  a  Rubicon  over  which 
contending  armies  of  small  boys  would  dispute  the 
supremacy  of  the  north  and  south  side  of  the  town. 
Now  it  wore  a  constant  air  of  being  quite  empty.  Per 
haps  nothing  was  more  characteristic,  struck  the  eye 
more  forcibly,  lingered  longer  in  the  memory  as  the 
dominant  note  in  the  impressionistic  picture  of  the 
place,  than  this  single  silent  road;  not  even  the  som 
bre  cabins,  or  the  prrcn.t  nine-clad  hills,  or  the  clear 
mountain  air  imparting  a  quality  of  its  own  to  the  very 
appearance  of  things,  or  the  little  singing  brook  that 
ran  behind  one  row  of  cabins  and  the  stable,  or  the 
eagles  wheeling  and  screaming  so  far  up  in  the  blue 
Western  sky.  The  town  seemed  to  draw  back  on 
either  side  of  the  road  to  avoid  spoiling  its  effect,  over 
awed  by  it,  humbled  by  its  dignified  solemnity.  Cop 
per  Creek  would  have  been  willing  to  have  its  history 
recounted  by  that  road,  which  was  primarily,  indeed, 
the  cause  of  its  being. 

And  Bill  Martin,  in  the  cane  chair  of  his  stoop,  the 
only  man  capable  of  recounting  that  history,  owed 
most  of  his  unique  knowledge  of  events  to  the  ancient 
thoroughfare.  Men  came  from  the  lower  gulch,  abode 
their  brief  hour,  and  disappeared  into  the  thin  air  of 
the  upper  curve.  From  one  wing,  across  the  white 
stage,  out  by  the  other  wing,  the  actors  changed ;  the 
setting  remained  always  the  same. 


THE   BROAD   WHITE   ROAD     169 

Now  each  morning  early  the  old  innkeeper  saw 
defile  before  his  windows  the  Optimist,  intent  on  de 
veloping  his  dream.  A  motley  crew,  these  Optimists, 
having  little  in  common  with  one  another  but  the  in 
ner  spirit  of  hope.  There  was  Old  Mizzou,  short, 
squat,  grizzled,  good-natured,  with  back-sloping,  bald 
forehead,  and  a  seven  dollar  suit  of  clothes,  from  which 
he  suffered  severely,  because  it  was  "  store  made."  He 
owned  a  little  claim  over  beyond  Ragged  Top,  on 
which  he  made  infinitesimal  progress.  No  one  seemed 
to  believe  it  amounted  to  much,  Old  Mizzou  least  of  all, 
but  he  was  old,  and  he  had  lived  the  life,  and  so  he  liked 
to  amuse  himself  still  in  playing  at  the  game;  con 
tented  to  chip  away  a  few  slivers  of  rock  in  order  to 
persuade  himself  that  he  was  a  miner,  to  sip  a  little 
whiskey  so  that  men  might  honor  him  as  a  drinker,  to 
talk  so  loudly  from  his  warm  corner  in  the  Little  Nug 
get  that  the  sound  of  his  voice  might  persuade  him  he 
was  a  bold  bad  man ;  although  everyone  knew  that 
Old  Mizzou  had  never  harmed  a  fly. 

And  then  again,  there  was  Jack  Graham,  the 
Easterner,  but  never  the  tenderfoot.  His  selections 
of  claims  had  been  judicious.  He  was  not  afraid  of 
work.  He  had  the  good  sense  of  the  timely  word,  so 
the  men  trusted  and  liked  him,  even  though  he  was 
college-bred  and  quiet-mannered  and  a  little  aloof. 

And  again,  there  was  Dave  Kelly,  who  was  red- 
cheeked,  and  blushed,  but  was  a  good  man  for  all  that ; 
and  Cheyenne  Harry,  who  owned  two  claims  and  never 
did  any  work  on  them ;  and  Houston,  the  strongest 
man  in  the  camp ;  and,  of  course,  the  great  Moroney. 
These,  and  a  hundred  like  them,  were  actual  miners, 
wielding  sledge,  drill  and  pick.  Besides  them  were 


I7o  THE   WESTERNERS 

others — Frosty,  and  the  faro  man,  and  Bill  Martin,  and 
the  stable  boys,  and  the  proprietor  of  the  New  York 
Emporium,  all  of  whom  lived  in  ministering  to  the 
wants  of  a  prosperity  that  was  still  in  the  air. 

Each  morning  the  camp  emptied  itself  into  the  hills. 
The  claims  were  usually  held  in  partnership;  when 
they  were  not,  two  of  the  men  "  traded  work,"  so  that 
they  could  labor  in  pairs.  At  rude  forges  near  the 
shafts  they  sharpened  their  heavy  steel  drills,  resem 
bling  crowbars,  beating  the  red-hot  point  out  with 
the  sledges.  Then  one  held,  while  the  other  struck — 
crash !  Turn,  crash !  Turn,  crash !  And  so  on,  in 
unwearying  succession,  until  the  hole  became  so 
clogged  with  the  powdered  rock  and  the  water  poured 
in  to  cool  the  drill,  that  it  had  to  be  spooned  out  with 
a  special  T-shaped  instrument. 

After  a  time  the  hole  would  be  deep  enough.  The 
operators  would  load  it,  touch  the  fuse,  scamper  for 
shelter.  The  earth  would  become  cumbered  with 
broken  vein  matter,  and  this  had  to  be  removed 
laboriously  with  pick  and  shovel.  When  the  shaft 
grew  deeper,  the  fuse  was  cut  a  little  longer,  and  the 
miners  would  climb  out  as  fast  as  they  could  on  a 
notched  pole.  Cases  have  been  known  when  that  was 
not  fast  enough ;  as  the  time  old  Brady,  the  paralytic, 
was  blown  out  along  with  the  vein  filling,  and  died 
almost  before  the  horse  was  saddled  to  go  for  the 
doctor  at  Custer,  fifteen  miles  away. 

The  rock  was  hard  and  the  immediate  results  in 
visible.  Well  earned  was  the  title  of  Optimist,  for  that 
these  coarse,  untrained  men  should  so  devote  them 
selves  to  a  futurity  certainly  indicated  optimism,  and  of 
a  fine  sort.  If  the  capitalist  should  not  come !  The  net 


THE   BROAD   WHITE   ROAD     171 

result  would  be  a  few  acres  of  hilly  stony  land,  a  well 
hole  where  there  was  no  water,  and  an  exhausted 
pocket-book. 

At  noon  some  of  the  miners  ate  a  lunch  which  they 
had  brought  with  them,  heating  coffee  over  the  little 
fire  used  to  warm  the  powder ;  while  others  picked  up 
something  in  their  own  cabins.  Bill  Martin's  table 
entertained  only  the  gambler,  Graham,  Cheyenne 
Harry,  and  two  other  men,  whom  the  camp  laughingly 
designated  as  "  proud."  About  four  or  five  o'clock, 
the  workers  returned  from  the  claims.  At  six  sharp 
Black  Jack  served  dinner  to  the  entire  camp.  Then 
came  the  Little  Nugget,  a  quiet  smoke,  a  glass  or  so 
of  whiskey,  and  a  sound  night's  sleep. 

Sometimes  there  was  a  celebration.  One  or  two 
members  of  the  little  community  were  inclined  to  be 
come  a  trifle  over  joyous  too  often  for  their  health. 
The  standard  of  humor  and  manners  was  not  one  of 
the  most  quiet  and  delicate.  But,  on  the  whole,  Cop 
per  Creek  was  no  worse  nor  better  than  a  hundred 
other  similar  prospecting  camps  in  the  West. 

Naturally,  to  such  a  community,  in  the  hobbledehoy 
stage  of  its  development,  as  it  were,  the  advent  of  so 
strange  a  phenomenon  as  a  woman  was  in  the  nature 
of  an  event.  Later,  when  it  had  become  used  to  the 
sex  and  its  possibilities  and  limitations,  the  personal 
relation  might  become  the  motive  of  much  very  com 
plicated  action ;  but  now  it  accepted  Molly  as  a  bright 
spot  of  color  on  a  gray  canvas,  as  a  holiday,  as  a  fortu 
itous  bit  of  music,  as  an  unexpected  burst  of  sunshine 
in  the  winter.  For  all  her  strong  feminine  charm,  she 
was  to  most  of  them  as  sexless  as  a  boy.  They  were 
too  many;  and  she  was  alone.  The  spectacle  of  one 


172  THE  WESTERNERS 

gigantic  rivalry  for  her  favor  would  have  been  gro 
tesque,  and  no  one  has  a  keener  instinctive  sense  of 
the  ridiculous  than  the  Westerner.  They  accepted  her 
fascination  as  a  real  but  impersonal  influence.  In  her 
they  honored  the  great  abstraction,  woman;  and  in 
himself  each  individual  saw,  not  his  own  single  per 
sonality,  but  the  blended  apotheosis  of  the  man  of  Cop 
per  Creek.  Molly  was  held  in  partnership,  each  miner 
making  not  only  his  own  impression  for  her  good 
graces,  but  the  camp's  as  well. 

And  this  without  mawkish  sentimentality  or  comic 
opera  delicacy  of  conduct.  It  must  not  be  under 
stood  that  the  newcomer  became  any  romantic  idol 
of  the  camp,  or  that  the  men  displayed  the  old-fash 
ioned  courtesy  affected  by  the  miners  in  Western 
romances.  These  were  pioneers.  Their  lives  were 
rough,  and  their  conduct  matched  their  lives.  When 
angry,  they  said  very  emphatic  things  in  inelegant  lan 
guage.  When  facetious,  their  jokes  were  apt  to  be  as 
broad  as  the  prairies  themselves.  When  at  their  ease, 
they  chewed  tobacco,  or  ate  with  their  knives,  or  forgot 
to  wash  their  shirts  that  week,  or  sat  in  their  shirt 
sleeves  with  the  collars  of  said  garment  wide  open. 
But  they  never  equalled  the  frankness  of  a  Parisian 
soiree  in  talking  of  or  joking  at  some  natural  but 
usually  unmentioned  functions  of  life ;  nor  were  they 
ever  without  that  solid  bedrock  of  good  nature  which 
is  the  American's  saving  grace.  Molly  Lafond  led  a 
safe  life  among  them  because  she  trusted  them.  In 
the  face  of  that  trust  no  one  of  them  conceived  the 
possibility  of  harming  her.  This  feeling  was  personal 
however.  Nobody  would  have  felt  called  upon  to  pro 
tect  her  against  anyone  who  did  conceive  the  possi- 


THE   BROAD    WHITE   ROAD     173 

bility.  In  other  words,  she  took  just  the  independent 
position  in  the  community  which  would  have  been  ac 
corded  to  a  man  coming  in  from  outside.  She  was  a 
good  comrade. 

In  her  elation  at  finally  escaping  the  restrictions  and 
petty  bickerings  of  her  life  at  the  Indian  agency,  Molly 
had  turned  eagerly  first  of  all  to  the  conquest  of  the 
masculine  heart.  This  was  theory,  built  up  from  a  long 
course  of  romantic  reading.  The  heroine  always 
"  ruled  her  little  court."  Molly  would  like  to  rule 
her  little  court  also.  She  felt  the  genuineness  of  her 
fascination,  the  possession  of  which  she  realized  to  the 
full  degree — that  sort  of  fascination  which  succeeds 
where  beauty,  intellect,  spirituality  fail.  It  was  a 
power,  great,  untried,  unmeasured.  Naturally  her  first 
impulse  was  to  test  it,  to  use  it.  She  luxuriated  in  it. 
Nothing  could  be  more  delightful  than  to  command 
and  be  obeyed  ;  to  smile  into  answering,  smiling  faces ; 
to  frown  and  see  swiftly,  as  in  a  mirrored  reflection, 
the  countenances  about  her  become  dark.  That  was 
natural. 

But  after  a  little  she  found  herself  tiring  of  it.  The 
game  was  too  easy.  Even  from  the  first  evening, 
when  she  had  astounded  and  subdued  the  whole  com 
munity  at  one  fell  blow,  she  had  never  experienced 
the  slightest  difficulty  in  getting  these  men  to  like  her. 
Why  should  she?  She  was  young  and  pretty  and 
dainty,  and  delicately  commanding  and  winsome,  and 
she  knew  instinctively  each  man's  weak  point.  One 
and  all  gave  her  unqualified  approbation.  There  is  no 
fun  in  asserting  yourself,  if  everyone  agrees  with  you ; 
and  to  be  a  queen  you  must  maintain  your  dignity  and 
aloofness.  It  was  a  pose.  You  cannot  be  hail-fellow 
with  your  subjects. 


174  THE   WESTERNERS 

So  little  by  little,  as  the  joy  of  out  door  life  got  into 
her  veins,  as  it  does  into  the  veins  of  every  healthy 
young  creature  in  the  open  air  of  the  Hills,  she  dropped 
the  coquette.  Then  she  first  began  to  appreciate  the 
real  charm  of  things,  and  she  was  perfectly  happy. 
Not  a  tiny  cloud  of  regret  veiled  the  tiniest  corner  of 
her  skies. 

The  cabin  had  been  finished  within  the  week,  but 
under  the  advice  of  the  builders  she  did  not  move  into 
it  until  nearly  a  month  later. 

A  new  shack  never  dries  thoroughly  in  less  than 
three  weeks ;  and,  besides,  the  sawdust  from  the  new 
insect  borings  always  pours  down  from  the  walls  and 
ceilings  in  aggravating  abundance.  A  dozen  other 
houses  were  placed  at  her  disposal.  The  men  were 
only  too  glad  to  double  up  temporarily.  But  the  sum 
mer  air  was  warm,  and  Molly  was  by  now  as  used  to 
the  narrow  confines  of  her  canvas-top,  as  a  yachtsman 
to  the  cabin  of  his  boat.  She  declined  their  offers  and 
continued  to  live  in  the  wagon.  She  was  quite  con 
tent  to  wait  thus.  In  the  meantime  she  took  much  de 
light  in  fixing  up  various  curtains,  chaircovers  and 
tablecloths  from  light  fabrics  unearthed  at  the  New 
York  Emporium,  and  in  cultivating  carefully  boxes 
of  geraniums,  almost  the  only  garden  flower  in  the 
hills.  Curiously  enough  she  enjoyed  this.  Perhaps 
it  was  a  hereditary  bequest  from  her  unsuspected  New 
England  ancestry. 

Jack  Graham  lent  her  many  books,  which  she  pe 
rused  greedily.  She  had  never  seen  a  large  city,  or  a 
boat,  or  a  trolley  car,  or  a  tailor-made  gown;  but 
that  counted  little.  Such  things  are  not  so  much  mat 
ters  of  actual  experience  as  of  natural  aptitude.  Some 


THE   BROAD  WHITE   ROAD     175 

people  can  go  to  Europe  and  get  less  out  of  it  than 
do  those  who  read  steamer  advertisements  at  home. 
Molly  Lafond  was  keen  of  intellect  and  vivid  of  im 
agination,  by  the  aid  of  which  two  qualities  she  con 
structed  for  herself  a  culture — real,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  somewhat  ill-balanced. 

She  spent  much  of  her  time  out  of  doors,  but  the 
road  and  the  gulch  saw  little  of  her.  Her  delight  was 
to  strike  directly  back  across  the  brook,  and  up  the 
overgrown  hill,  to  the  vast  pine-clad  heights  above. 
There  the  castellated  dikes  frowned  like  mediaeval  ram 
parts  ;  the  pine  needles  were  soft  and  slippery  and 
fragrant  underfoot;  the  breeze  swept  by  on  swift 
wings,  humming  songs  of  the  distant  prairie  ;  the  little 
squirrels  chattered  and  the  big  squirrels  barked ;  the 
sun  shone  silver  clear ;  and  below,  far  down,  the  sum 
mits  of  other  hills  dropped  away  and  away  like  the 
tiers  of  some  enormous  amphitheatre,  until  the  brown 
prairie  suddenly  flowed  out  from  underneath  and  rose 
to  the  level  of  the  eye.  It  was  very  far  from  every 
thing  up  there.  And  then  one  could  go  through  the 
dikes  down  into  Juniper  Gulch,  where  one  would  find 
a  whole  group  of  claims  and  one's  friends  at  work  on 
them. 

Molly  grew  to  be  an  expert  in  the  dip  of  quartz. 
She  was  accustomed  to  perch  on  a  neighboring  dike- 
let,  near  a  claim,  where  she  could  enjoy  the  breeze, 
and  converse  without  too  much  effort.  There  she 
looked  charming,  and  bothered  the  workers  a  little. 
All  workers  like  to  be  bothered  a  little.  It  is  a  wise 
woman  who  does  not  bother  them  too  much.  The 
attention  is  flattering  as  long  as  it  is  not  annoying. 
When  the  men  were  below  the  ^rfnce  of  the  ground, 


176  THE   WESTERNERS 

she  shouted  down  the  shaft  and  insisted  on  a  ride  in 
the  bucket.  Or  she  rambled  long  delicious  hours  with 
Peter  and  the  Kid,  from  whom  she  learned  the  philos 
ophy  of  hindsights  and  the  pregnant  possibilities  of 
holes  under  tree  roots.  These  two  adored  her  beyond 
all  measure.  The  homely,  bristle-whiskered  animal 
was  always  at  her  heels;  the  Kid  was  ever  ready  to 
waste  precious  cartridges  on  her  behalf. 

They  did  much  elaborate  stalking  after  grouse,  rab 
bits,  and  squirrels.  Most  of  these  approaches  failed, 
for  the  reason  that  they  were  too  elaborate  and  too 
eager.  Wild  creatures  seem  to  be  sensitive  to  tele 
pathic  influences.  A  stolid  Indian,  whose  fatalism  does 
not  permit  him  to  become  much  excited,  can  often  walk 
directly  up  to  a  flock  of  ducks,  when  a  white  man  with 
a  breech-loading  gun  and  a  desire  for  a  bag  could  not 
sneak  within  fifty  rods.  Instance  also  the  well  known 
and  uncanny  knowledge  of  the  common  crow  as  to 
your  possession  of  firearms.  His  proneness  to  distant 
flight  when  you  are  armed,  and  his  sublime  indifference 
to  your  approach  when  you  are  not,  may  arise  not  from 
a  recognition  of  the  instrument,  but  from  a  reading 
of  the  desire  for  his  slaughter. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  bagging  of  game  was  a  rare 
enough  event  to  throw  all  three  into  wild  excitement. 
Usually,  a  grand  rush  was  made  in  the  direction  of  the 
fallen.  Peter  arrived  first,  and  danced,  tip-toed,  bristle- 
backed.  Molly  and  the  Kid  were  not  far  behind.  Then 
came  shouts  of  proud  joy  and  feminine  shrieks  at  the 
gore.  The  story  was  detailed  again  and  again  of  just 
how  the  shot  was  made.  Peter  agonized  that  he  could 
not  talk.  Finally  the  grouse  or  squirrel  was  borne 
proudly  down  to  fiefcfc-motistached  Black  Jack,  the 
cook,  who  expostulated  and  Crumbled. 


THE   BROAD   WHITE   ROAD     177 

"  G'  'way,  you  two !  "  he  growled.  "  Git  out ;  don't 
want  you  around !  Goin'  t'  bake !  Vamoose  !  Ain't 
hired  t'  skin  no  squirrels  or  pluck  no  birds.  Cyan't  be 
bothered.  G'  'way,  you  two."  Black  Jack  always 
talked  like  this — in  short,  disconnected  sentences. 

Then  the  girl  would  beg  prettily,  while  the  Kid, 
fully  aware  in  whom  dwelt  the  most  effective  per 
suasion,  stood  by,  and  Peter  snuffed  around  in  the 
forbidden  kitchen.  And  finally  Black  Jack  would 
yield,  with  a  vast  show  of  bad  grace. 

"  All  right,  all  right !  "  he  would  cry,  shaking  his 
great  head.  "  Just  this  once.  Never  again,  mind  you, 
never  again.  Cyan't  be  bothered.  Wouldn't  do  it  now, 
only  just  t'  get  rid  of  that  dawg.  That's  it.  Cyan't 
have  no  dawg  around.  Cyan't  nohow." 

He  took  the  partridge  or  squirrel,  still  grumbling. 

"  Oh,  thank  you,  dear  good  Mr.  Black  Jack !  "  cried 
Molly.  "  And  you'll  save  me  the  wings  and  tail  or  the 
skin,  won't  you  ?  " 

At  this  point  Black  Jack  always  exploded  violently 
and  bundled  them  out,  taking  a  neatly  avoided  kick  at 
Peter.  Then  he  would  watch  them  quite  out  of  sight, 
after  which  he  would  expend  the  utmost  care  in  the 
concoction  of  wonderful  stews  or  potpies. 

These  clear,  sunshiny,  healthy  days  tanned  Molly's 
skin  to  a  golden  brown,  brightened  her  eye  and  her 
smile,  and  filled  her  strong  young  body  with  abound 
ing  health  and  vitality.  Even  her  evenings  did  not  in 
any  way  cloud  her  spirits.  They  were  of  bad  influence, 
but  why  should  she  know  that?  She  was  a  delicious 
little  animal,  keen,  shrewd,  of  good  impulses,  though 
her  moral  nature  was  quite  untrained.  She  possessed 
instincts — strong  instincts — which  seemed  arbitrarily 


178  THE  WESTERNERS 

to  place  a  limit  beyond  which  she  did  not  dream  of 
going ;  but  that,  she  thought,  was  because  she  did  not 
care  to  go.  The  question  of  right  or  wrong,  con 
sciously  chosen,  never  entered  her  calculations.  Her 
only  standard  was  her  desire — and,  perhaps  a  little, 
what  Graham  would  think  of  her — but  she  did  not 
bother  her  head  one  way  or  the  other.  She  was  happy, 
and  was  doing  nothing  she  regretted.  That  was 
enough. 

And  yet  the  evenings  were  not  good — not  good  at 
.all.  They  were  bound  to  exercise  a  certain  deleterious 
influence. 

By  habit,  Molly  spent  her  time  after  dark  on  a  cor 
ner  of  the  bar  at  the  Little  Nugget  saloon.  There  she 
received  attention.  The  peculiarity  of  her  position  lay 
in  the  fact  that  her  good  comradeship  had  dissipated 
constraint.  The  men  talked  and  drank  and  gambled 
about  as  usual.  It  must  be  repeated  that  the  girl  was 
in  no  sense  a  romantic  "  idol  of  the  camp."  The  min 
ers  would  have  been  well  enough  pleased  if  she  had 
drunk  her  whiskey  with  them  as  freely  as  they  did  with 
each  other.  As  she  did  not,  they  merely  put  the  fact 
down  to  personal  idiosyncrasy,  like  Dave  Williams* 
horror  of  cooked  rabbit.  Rough  men  do  not  demand 
the  finer  virtues,  and  she  was  treated  to  the  reverse 
side  of  this  idea.  She  saw  what  men  call  life.  She 
learned  the  game  of  faro  and  how  men  act  who  have 
won  or  lost  at  it.  She  gained  a  knowledge  of  the 
strength  of  whiskey  and  what  men  say  who  have  drunk 
of  it.  She  heard  loose  speech ;  she  saw  loose  conduct. 
All  this  is  not  nice  for  a  young  girl. 

The  men  felt  especially  drawn  to  her  because  she 
smoked  paper  cigarettes  gracefully.  About  ten  o'clock 
she  went  to  bed. 


THE   BROAD   WHITE   ROAD     179 

These  few  days,  between  her  first  triumphant  arrival 
and  her  establishment  in  her  new  cabin,  were  the  most 
care-free  and  happy  of  her  stay  at  Copper  Creek.  She 
lived  thoughtlessly,  conducting  herself  exactly  as  she 
pleased,  entertaining  no  regrets,  conscious  of  no  sense 
of  wrongdoing,  and  therefore  of  no  sense  of  guilt. 
Then  a  little  incident  stirred  into  wakefulness  that  fine- 
wrought  conscience  which  is  an  element  of  so  many 
natures  that  draw  their  life  from  New  England. 


XX 

THE  EATING   OF  THE   APPLE 

ONE  morning  Molly  found  herself  awakened 
very  early  by  the  sound  of  whistling  just  out 
side.     She  opened  her  eyes  to  discover  Peter, 
who  had  occupied  one  end  of  the  wagon,  sitting,  head 
and  ears  up,  listening  to  the  same  sound.    The  whis 
tling  was  young,  tuneless.    Finally  she  peered  through 
the  crack  in  the  canvas. 

Outside,  on  the  wagon  tongue,  sat  the  Kid  patiently 
waiting,  his  little  rifle  across  his  knees,  one  bare  foot 
digging  away  at  the  dust,  his  lips  puckered  to  cheerful 
sibilance,  his  wide  gray  eyes  turning  every  once  in 
awhile  to  the  canvas  cover  of  the  schooner.  He  dis 
covered  Molly  looking  out.  The  whistle  abruptly 
stopped. 

"  Come  on  out,  Molly,"  said  he.  "  I  ben  waiting  for 
you  a  long  time." 

"  My !  it's  so  awful  early !  "  yawned  Molly.  "  What 
do  you  want  to  do  ?  " 

"  I'm  going  to  take  you  hunting,"  confided  the  Kid. 
"  We  perhaps  can  get  a  squirrel  down  the  gulch,  or 
perhaps  a  cotton-tail.  Come  on,  hurry  up !  " 

"  Why,  I  ain't  dressed  yet,"  objected  Molly. 

"  Well,  dress  !  "  said  the  Kid  impatiently. 

By  this  time  she  was  well  awake,  and  the  glorious 
morning  was  getting  into  her  lungs.  Her  eye  dis 
appeared,  and  in  a  few  minutes  she  emerged  fully 
clothed.  The  Kid  looked  her  over. 

1 80 


THE   EATING   OF   THE  APPLE     181 

"  Y'  ain't  going  that  way  ?  "  he  asked  incredulously. 

"  Course  not.    You  wait  till  I  come  back." 

She  stepped  down  on  the  whiffletree,  her  heavy 
waving  hair  falling  in  masses  of  curls  and  crinkles 
over  her  shoulders. 

"  Oh,  Lord !  "  cried  the  Kid  pathetically.  In  the 
entrance  stood  Peter,  his  head  on  one  side.  Molly 
laughed. 

"  I  thought  I'd  got  rid  of  him"  complained  the  Kid, 
"  and  here  he  is  !  " 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Molly  soothingly,  "  I  can  make 
him  stand  round.  Come  here,  Peter !  " 

At  the  pool  of  the  lower  creek  Molly  knelt,  turning 
back  the  sleeves  from  her  white  arms,  loosening  the 
dress  from  about  her  round  young  throat.  After  a 
little  she  leaned  back  against  the  mosses  and  piled  the 
strands  of  her  hair,  watching  the  interested  Kid  with 
shining  eyes. 

"  My,  but  you're  purty !  "  he  cried.  She  nodded  to 
him,  laughing. 

They  took  their  way  down  the  gulch,  walking  soberly 
in  the  road,  while  Peter  skirmished  unrestrained  among 
the  possibilities  of  the  thickets  at  either  hand.  In  the 
judgment  of  the  Kid,  this  was  too  near  town  for  the 
best  hunting.  The  Kid  talked. 

"  You  never  been  down  here,  have  you  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Molly,  "  I've  always  been  up  in  the 
hills,  you  know  ;  it's  more  fun,  I  think.  Do  you  think 
we'll  find  anything  down  here  near  the  road  ?  " 

"  Not  just  yet ;  but  after  we  get  by  Bugchaser's — 
Say,  you've  never  seen  Bugchaser,  then,  have  you?  " 

"  No,"  laughed  the  girl,  "  I  should  think  not.  What 
in  the  world  is  Bugchaser?  " 


i82  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  It  isn't  a  '  what  •  ;  it's  a  '  him.'  He's  crazy.  He 
has  a  'coon,  and  a  bear,  and  a  bobcat.  I'd  like  to  go 
up  an'  see  'em,  but  I'm  scairt  of  him." 

"  Is  he  dangerous  ?  "  asked  Molly. 

"  Pop  says  he  eats  little  boys.  Hoh !  that  ain't  so, 
of  course.  But  he's  crazy,  you  know." 

"  What  makes  you  think  so?  " 

"  He  chases  bugs  with  a  fishnet." 

"  Oh !  "  cried  Molly  comprehendingly,  and  began 
to  laugh. 

The  Kid  looked  at  her  with  offended  reproach. 

"  Well,"  he  remarked  finally,  "  you  can  do  what  you 
want ;  but  you  betcher  life  I'm  keepin'  away  from 
him !  " 

His  eyes  were  wide  with  childish  wonder,  strangely 
incongruous  in  this  solemn,  lonely  little  creature  with 
his  ways  of  early  maturity  and  his  ridiculous  cut-down 
clothes. 

"There,  there,"  laughed  Molly  soothingly.  "I 
wonder  what's  up  with  Peter !  " 

Peter  was  barking  like  a  bunch  of  fire  crackers. 

"  Sounds  exciting !  "  said  she.  "  Maybe  it's  a  squir 
rel  up  a  tree.  Let's  see  !  " 

The  Kid  threw  his  rifle  into  the  position  of  a  most 
portentous  ready,  and  the  two  entered  the  bushes. 
Peter  was  discovered,  his  hair  bristling  between  his 
shoulders,  jumping  eagerly  around  some  object  which 
lay,  invisible,  on  the  ground.  He  snapped  with  ex 
citement.  The  Kid  ran  forward  with  a  shout.  Molly 
picked  her  skirts  up  and  followed  with  equal  rapidity 
and  considerably  more  grace.  They  nearly  ran  over 
a  large  coiled  rattlesnake. 

The   Kid   yelled   and  leaped  to  one  side.     Molly 


THE   EATING   OF   THE   APPLE     183 

stopped  stock-still  and  tittered  a  piercing  scream,  after 
which  she  climbed  rapidly  to  the  top  of  a  near-by 
bowlder,  where  she  perched,  her  skirts  daintily  raised, 
her  eyes  bright  with  excitement.  Peter  leaped  madly 
about.  The  Kid  discharged  rapid  but  ineffectual  pea 
bullets  at  the  reptile. 

"  I  imagine  you  need  a  little  help,"  said  a  voice  so 
unexpected  that  Molly  nearly  fell  from  the  rock.  The 
Kid  gave  one  look  at  the  newcomer  and  fled  with  a 
howl  of  terror.  "  A  most  peculiar  youth,"  observed 
Durand  reflectively  as- he  advanced.  "Most  peculiar 
— seemingly  obsessed  of  an  unwarranted  terror  for  my 
person.  Strange !  I  have  never  acted  in  any  way 
brusquely  toward  him."  He  picked  up  a  stick,  and, 
advancing  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  killed  the 
whirring  snake  with  a  single  blow.  "  You  may  now 
descend,"  he  assured  her,  turning  with  exquisite  grace 
to  offer  his  hand. 

He  led  the  way  out  to  the  road.  Peter  followed 
until  within  sight  of  the  animals  chained  to  the  posts, 
and  then  he  quietly  disappeared  in  search  of  the  Kid. 
This  was  not  cowardice  on  Peter's  part,  but  he  had 
long  since  tested  by  experiment  the  futility  of  chal 
lenging  barks. 

Molly  had  recognized  the  newcomer  from  the  Kid's 
description ;  and  her  first  glance  assured  her  that  her 
surmise  as  to  his  calling  had  been  true.  She  had  been 
reading  the  Life  of  Wilson,  the  naturalist,  recently; 
and  so  knew  of  the  existence  of  such  men.  To  her 
they  seemed  rather  romantic. 

"  Oh !  "  cried  she  on  catching  sight  of  the  chained 
animals.  "  Are  they  tame  ?  Are  they  tame  enough 
to  pet  ?  " 


1 84  THE   WESTERNERS 

The  old  man  smiled  a  little  at  her  enthusiasm.  He 
had  been  looking  her  over  with  pleasure,  but  without 
surprise.  Micha'il  Lafond,  his  new  friend,  had  men 
tioned  his  "  daughter "  ;  but  never,  Durand  now 
thought,  in  fitting  terms.  This  girl  was  really  beauti 
ful.  The  little  interview  became  an  audience  to  which 
Durand  brought  his  exquisite  court  manners. 

"  Jacques,  the  little  raccoon,  certainly  is,"  he  replied 
to  Molly's  question,  "  but  the  others — I  do  not  know 

— they  are  tame  enough  for  me — but  a  stranger . 

We  can  try,  cautiously." 

Molly  had  run  forward  and  fallen  on  her  knees  be 
fore  the  'coon.  She  was  delighted  with  his  grizzled, 
round  body,  with  his  bright  eyes,  his  sharp  little  nose, 
the  stripes  across  his  back,  his  bare,  black  hands,  al 
most  human,  and  above  all  with  the  clean,  fresh 
woods-smell  that  is  characteristic  of  such  an  animal 
when  not  too  closely  confined.  Finding  him  quite 
gentle,  she  took  him  in  her  arms.  Jacques  proceeded 
at  once  to  investigate  busily  the  recesses  and  folds  of 
her  dress. 

"  He  seeks  for  sweetmeats,"  explained  the  old  man, 
who  was  looking  on. 

From  Jacques  they  proceeded  to  Isabeau,  the  lynx. 
Isabeau  spat  a  little  and  looked  askance,  but  under 
reproof  permitted  a  dainty  pat  on  the  tips  of  his  tas- 
selled  ears.  Patalon,  the  great  clown  bear,  was  good- 
natured,  but  rough.  He  desired  to  be  rubbed  here 
and  there,  he  wished  affectionately  to  return  this  young 
lady's  attentions  with  a  mighty  hug.  He  smelt  rank  of 
the  wild  beast.  Molly  returned  soon  to  little  Jacques. 

"  How  did  you  get  them  ?  "  she  asked,  tapping  the 
end  of  Jacques'  nose  to  see  him  wrinkle  his  face. 


THE   EATING   OF   THE   APPLE     185 

"  It  is  not  difficult.  One  captures  them  young,  when 
they  are  mere  cubs ;  and  so,  although  they  never  will 
lose  their  wild  instincts,  they  become  as  you  see  them." 

"  But  the  mothers ?  " 

"  Ah,  that  is  the  pity,"  replied  the  old  man  simply. 
"  Sometimes  it  becomes  necessary  that  they  die." 

Molly  looked  on  him  with  new  wonder,  this  slayer 
of  bears  and  wild  cats,  who  nevertheless  appeared  so 
gentle,  whose  eye  was  so  mild.  It  was  indeed  a  mar 
vellous  world.  She  forgot  the  Kid  and  the  hunting 
party,  and  gave  herself  up  to  the  pleasure  of  the  mo 
ment. 

From  the  pets  they  wandered  to  the  flowers.  These 
interested  Molly  exceedingly,  for  she  herself  was 
struggling  with  the  boxes  of  geraniums.  It  was  fully 
half  an  hour  later  when  Molly  finally  said  farewell  to 
her  host  and  continued  on  down  the  gulch  in  the  di 
rection  taken  by  her  little  companion. 

The  Kid  was  waiting  with  all  the  heart-rending  im 
patience  of  youth.  The  precious  time  before  break 
fast  was  slipping  away  in  futility.  He  had  made  a  sac 
rifice  in  taking  this  girl.  Never  would  he  do  it  again ! 
never !  never !  And  then  he  saw  her  coming,  and  for 
got  everything  except  his  relief. 

"  Took  you  long  enough  to  break  away,"  was  his 
only  complaint  as  he  rose  to  conduct  the  party. 

"  Have  we  got  time  to  hunt  now  ?  Ain't  it  'most 
breakfast-time ?"  inquired  Molly  dubiously.  "Don't 
you  think  we'd  better  let  it  go  for  this  morning?  " 

"  Lord,  no !  Come  on  !  For  heaven's  sake  don't 
let's  waste  any  more  time  !  "  cried  the  Kid  with  a  gusty 
impatience  that  surprised  his  companion.  She  did  not 
realize  the  humiliated  disappointment  that  had  this 


186  THE   WESTERNERS 

last  hour  seethed  in  the  little  breast.  "  I  s'pose  we 
might  's  well  get  up  on  the  ridge,"  suggested  the  Kid, 
still  grumbling. 

They  turned  sharp  to  the  left,  through  the  thicket, 
where  the  birds  were  already  hushing  their  songs,  and 
the  early  dew  was  quite  dried  away.  The  Kid  pushed 
ahead  with  almost  feverish  rapidity.  Here  and  there 
in  the  brush  Peter  scurried,  head  down,  hind  legs  well 
drawn  together  beneath  his  flanks.  He  snuffled 
eagerly  into  the  holes  and  forms,  doing  his  dramatic 
best  to  create  some  game,  if  necessary.  Every  once 
in  awhile  his  bristly  head,  all  alert,  peered,  cock-eared, 
over  a  bush,  searching  the  hunter's  face  for  direction's, 
and  then  plunging  away  suddenly  as  his  own  judgment 
advised.  It  was  most  scienceless  and  unsportsman 
like.  The  Kid  peered  eagerly  to  right  and  left,  holding 
the  muzzle  of  the  little  rifle  conscientiously  at  an  angle 
of  forty-five  degrees,  as  he  had  been  taught,  and  vainly 
striving  to  avoid  dry  twigs,  although  Peter  was  mak 
ing  enough  noise  for  a  circus  parade.  The  girl  fol 
lowed  a  step  or  so  in  the  rear.  It  was  breath-taking, 
this  excitement.  Every  stir  of  the  bushes  needed  ex 
amination,  every  flutter  of  wings  was  a  possibility, 
every  plunge  of  Peter  might  send  a  covey  whirring 
into  the  pine  tops,  or  rouse  a  squirrel  to  angry  ex 
postulation.  As  they  went  on  up  the  side  hills,  still 
without  result,  but  therefore  with  expectation  the  more 
sharpened,  and  as  Molly's  cheeks  became  redder  and 
redder  under  her  brown  skin  and  her  eyes  brighter  and 
brighter,  and  as  she  bit  her  under  lip  more  and  more, 
and  as  the  straight  level  line  of  her  brows  grew 
straighter  and  straighter  with  the  concentration  of  her 
thoughts,  it  is  to  be  doubted  if  the  most  enthusiastic 


THE   EATING   OF   THE   APPLE     187 

lover  of  scenery  could  have  torn  his  eyes  from  the 
pretty  picture  even  for  the  sale  of  the  magnificent 
sweep  of  country  below.  So  at  least  thought  Chey 
enne  Harry,  on  his  way  across  the  ridge  to  his  claim. 

He  surveyed  the  eager  three  with  some  slight 
amusement. 

"  Hullo  !  "  he  called  suddenly. 

The  boy  and  girl  started. 

"  Hullo !  "  answered  Molly  after  a  moment,  when 
her  intent  hunting  expression  had  quite  fled  before 
her  cheerful  look  of  recognition.  "  That  you  ?  " 

The  Kid  too  paused,  but  evidently  under  protest, 
and  with  the  idea  of  moving  on  again  at  the  earliest 
polite  moment. 

"How's  hunting?"  inquired  Harry  facetiously. 
"  Killed  all  the  game  down  below  there?  " 

"  All  we've  seen,"  replied  Molly  promptly ;  "  and 
the  hunting's  very  good."  She  put  ever  so  slight  a 
stress  on  the  word  "  hunting."  "  We're  going  over 
the  ridge  now.  Want  to  come  along  and  help  carry 
the  game  ?  " 

Harry  looked  speculatively  at  the  Kid,  who  was 
standing  first  on  one  bare  foot,  then  on  the  other. 
"  Naw,  guess  not,"  he  replied.  The  Kid  brightened 
at  once.  "I'm  going  over  to  the  Gold  King  for 
a  while.  You'd  better  come  along  with  me." 

"  Haven't  had  any  breakfast,"  objected  Molly. 

"  Oh,  that's  nothing.  Neither  have  I.  I'm  just  out 
to  look  around.  Come  ahead." 

Molly  did  not  care  a  snap  of  her  fingers  about  the 
Gold  King  claim,  except  that  it  belonged  to  Cheyenne 
Harry ;  and,  owing  to  the  rarity  of  that  individual's 
visits  to  his  property,  she  had  never  seen  it.  Besides 


188  THE  WESTERNERS 

this,  she  had  been  a  good  deal  the  last  few  days  with 
Graham.  That  young  man  had  been  interesting  her 
greatly  with  a  most  condensed  and  popularized  account 
of  the  nebular  theory,  which  seemed  to  Molly  very 
picturesque  and  intellectual.  She  was  much  taken  with 
the  idea  of  thus  improving  herself  and  she  gave  herself 
great  credit  for  the  effort,  but  it  was  so  far  above  the 
usual  plane  of  her  intellectual  workings  that  she  had 
to  stand  on  tiptoe  to  reach  it.  The  evening  before, 
she  had  gone  to  bed  keyed  up  to  wonderful  resolves. 
To-day  the  pendulum  had  begun  ever  so  slowly  to 
swing  back.  All  the  influences  of  out-door  life  had 
drawn  her  to  the  earth ;  the  clear  freshness  of  the 
early  morning,  the  rank  smell  of  the  wild  beast,  the 
incipient  hero-worship  in  her  admiration  of  the  old 
man's  supposed  prowess  as  a  slayer  of  bears,  the  act 
ual  physical  contact  with  the  slapping  clinging  brush 
through  which  she  had  passed.  She  breathed  deep  of 
the  crisp  air.  She  broadened  her  chest,  and  stretched 
her  muscles,  and  drank  the  soft  caressing  sun  warmth. 
She  felt  she  would  like  to  get  down  near  the  grass,  to 
breathe  its  earthly  smell,  to  kiss  it.  It  was  the  glad 
ness  of  just  living. 

And  to  her  in  a  subtle  manner  Cheyenne  Harry 
symbolized  these  things,  just  as  Graham  symbolized 
that  elusive  intangible  humiliating  power  of  the  in 
tellect.  He  was  strong  and  bold  and  breezy  of  man 
ner,  and  elemental  of  thought,  and  primitive  in  his 
passions  and  the  manner  of  their  expression.  He  ap 
pealed  to  that  spirit  in  her  which  craved  the  brusque 
conqueror. 

So  for  the  moment  the  idea  of  a  scramble  with 
him  over  these  rough  dike-strewn  ridges  seemed  to 


THE  EATING   OF   THE  APPLE     189 

her  the  one  idea  in  perfect  tune  with  the  wild  Western 
quality  of  the  newborn  day.  And  therefore,  to  the  con 
sternation  of  the  waiting  Kid,  she  replied — 

"  Why,  yes.  I  think  it  would  be  good  fun,  though 
I  don't  believe  there  is  any  Gold  King  claim.  I  be 
lieve  it's  just  an  excuse  for  your  loafing  around,  for 
you  certainly  never  spent  much  time  on  it." 

"  It's  the  finest  thing  ever,"  Harry  assured  her  with 
a  laugh.  "  I'll  show  you." 

The  Kid  stood  stock-still  in  consternation. 

"  Oh !  "  cried  he,  when  he  could  get  his  voice,  "  and 
how  about  our  hunt  ?  " 

"  You  come  along  with  us,"  invited  Cheyenne 
Harry  good-naturedly.  "  It's  good  hunting  all  the 
way." 

But  the  Kid  knew  better.  This  heedless  climbing 
and  loud  talking  would  be  quite  different  from  the 
careful  attention  necessary  for  the  destruction  of  the 
wily  "  chicken  "  of  experienced  squirrel.  He  looked 
very  sad. 

"  Yes,  come  on,"  urged  Molly ;  "  we'll  get  some 
thing  over  in  '  Teepee.' ' 

The  Kid  shook  his  head,  unable  to  trust  himself  to 
speak.  Cheyenne  Harry  turned  away  a  little  impa 
tiently. 

"  I'm  sorry,"  continued  Molly  with  hesitation.  "  I 
think  you'd  like  it.  But  we've  had  quite  a  hunt  al 
ready,  haven't  we  ?  And  we  can  go  another  time." 

She  joined  Cheyenne  Harry.  Peter  stood  looking 
first  at  the  Kid,  then  at  the  two  retreating  forms.  He 
was  plainly  undecided.  Molly's  gingham  dress  flut 
tered  for  the  last  time  before  she  turned  the  corner  of 
a  bowlder.  Peter  suddenly  made  up  his  worried  mind. 
The  Kid  was  left  alone. 


390  THE   WESTERNERS 

He  sat  down  on  a  rock,  and  rested  his  chin  in  his 
hands,  and  looked  away  across  the  valley  to  the  peak 
of  Tom  Custer.  A  tiny  white  cloud  was  sailing  down 
the  wind.  He  watched  it  until,  swirling,  it  dissolved 
into  the  currents  of  air.  Far  back  in  the  forest  of  pines 
a  little  breeze  rustled,  faint  as  a  whisper :  then  it  crept 
nearer,  ever  waxing  in  strength,  until,  with  a  murmur 
as  of  a  throng  of  people,  it  passed  overhead,  and  van 
ished  with  a  last  sigh  in  the  distance.  The  Kid  listened 
attentively  to  the  birth  and  death  of  the  voice.  A  squir 
rel  directly  above  him  broke  into  a  rattling  torrent  of 
chattering  rage.  The  Kid  sat,  his  chin  in  his  hands, 
looking  out  over  the  valley  with  unseeing  eyes,  his 
little  rifle  resting  idly  against  his  knee.  The  moments 
passed  by,  one  after  the  other,  distinct,  like  the  ticks 
of  a  great  clock. 

A  soft  muzzle  nosed  its  way  gently  between  his 
wrists.  He  looked  down.  Peter's  homely,  gray- 
whiskered  face  with  the  pathetic  eyes  looked  up  into 
his  own.  The  Kid  flung  both  arms  about  the  dog's 
coarse-furred  neck,  and  burst  into  a  passion  of  tears. 

From  the  top  of  the  ridge,  where  she  had  paused 
a  moment  to  take  breath,  Molly  saw  the  whole  of 
this  little  scene.  She  suddenly  felt  very  irritated. 

That  Kid  was  certainly  the  most  unreasonable  of 
children !  Why,  she  spent  three-quarters  of  her  time 
doing  nothing  but  amuse  him.  She  had  got  up  cheer 
fully  at  an  unearthly  hour,  walked  several  miles  with 
out  breakfast,  followed  him  uncomplaining  through  a 
lot  of  damp  grass  and  underbrush,  and  now,  because 
she  wouldn't  spend  the  rest  of  the  day  with  him,  he 
sulked.  Forsooth,  was  she  to  give  up  all  her  friends, 
her  amusements,  for  the  sake  of  that  boy  ?  Molly  was 


THE   EATING   OF   THE  APPLE     191 

most  impatient — with  the  Kid — and  she  became  so 
preoccupied  in  pitying  herself  that  she  hardly  an 
swered  Cheyenne  Harry's  remarks,  and  was  a  very 
poor  companion.  She  deceived  herself  perfectly  ;  yet 
in  the  background  of  her  consciousness  was  something- 
she  did  not  recognize — something  uncomfortable.  It 
was  an  uneasiness,  a  heaviness,  a  slight  feeling  of  guilt 
for  something  which  she  could  not  specify,  quite  in 
definable,  and  therefore  the  more  annoying.  It  made 
her  feel  like  shaking  her  shoulders.  There  seemed  no 
valid  reason  why  she  should  not  be  as  light-hearted  as 
she  had  been  a  few  minutes  ago,  for  her  reason  saw 
nothing  in  her  conduct  to  regret.  And  yet  she  was 
uneasy,  as  though  she  had  done  something  wrong  and 
was  on  the  point  of  being  found  out.  She  could  not 
understand  it,  but  it  was  very  real,  and,  because  she 
could  see  no  reason  for  it,  it  made  her  angry,  with  a 
sense  of  injustice. 

It  was  the  first  manifestation  of  another  phase  of 
heredity — the  New  England  conscience. 


XXI 

LAFOND   MAKES   A   FRIEND 

MICHAIL  LAFOND  made  much  less  of  a  stir 
in  the  life  of  the  camp  than  had  his  ward.  He 
fitted  in  quietly. 

Behind  the  Little  Nugget  was  a  room  and  a  shed. 
Lafond  took  possession  of  the  room,  and  relegated 
Frosty  to  the  shed.  His  position  as  proprietor  of  the 
saloon  sufficiently  explained  his  idleness,  if  anybody's 
idleness  ever  needed  explanation  in  a  mining  camp. 
He  seemed  to  do  nothing,  merely  because  he  was  to  be 
seen  almost  any  hour  of  the  day  either  smoking  con 
templative  pipes  near  his  place  or  Bill  Martin's,  or 
wandering  with  every  appearance  of  leisure  from  claim 
to  claim  in  the  Hills,  or  disappearing  in  the  direction 
of  Durand's  cabin  in  the  lower  gulch.  That  was  a 
mistake.  He  really  did  a  great  deal. 

For  instance,  he  made  himself  agreeable  in  a  cool, 
drawling  fashion  to  anybody  who  cared  to  talk  to  him. 
He  kept  his  eyes  wide  open,  no  matter  where  he  went. 
He  puffed  as  many  speculations  into  his  brain  as  he 
did  smoke-clouds  into  the  air.  That  was  not  much 
perhaps ;  yet,  by  the  time  the  Chicago  men  came  to 
Copper  Creek,  the  half-breed  knew  just  about  every 
body's  business  in  that  camp.  The  student  of  char 
acter  never  needs  to  ask  blunt  questions. 

He  soon  discovered  that  his  first  surmise  as  to  Billy's 
peculiarities  was  correct.  The  man  was  above  all 
things  spectacular.  He  liked  to  fill  the  stage.  If  La- 

192 


LAFOND   MAKES   A   FRIEND     193 

fond  could  strip  him  of  his  property — the  Great  Snake 
— his  prestige  as  promoter  of  the  camp  would  be  gone. 
Black  Mike  could  imagine  nothing  more  galling  to  one 
of  Knapp's  temperament. 

He  soon  discovered  that  it  would  be  no  easy  matter  to 
do  this,  however.  He  had  felt  sure  that  he  would  have 
no  difficulty  in  taking  advantage  of  the  proverbial  care 
lessness  of  Westerners  in  general,  and  Billy  Knapp  in 
particular,  as  to  some  of  the  finer  points  of  mining  law. 
There  are  many  technicalities  to  be  observed  before  a 
claim  belongs  indubitably  and  for  all  time  to  the  man 
who  occupies  it.  A  "  discovery  "  of  certain  specifica 
tion  must  be  made ;  the  measurements  and  stakes 
must  conform  to  definite  regulations ;  the  develop 
ment  work  must  be  carried  on  and  reported  accord 
ing  to  the  letter  of  the  law ;  and  so  in  a  dozen  other 
trivialities  which  the  miner  is  like  to  honor  only  in  the 
most  general  fashion.  But  Billy's  requirements  were 
all  fulfilled.  The  claims  were  undoubtedly  his  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  word.  At  present  he  could  not  be 
deprived  of  them  legally ;  and  as  it  was  no  part  of  La- 
fond's  scheme  to  allow  Billy  even  the  smallest  com 
fort  of  self-pity  when  his  humiliation  came,  he  did  not 
care  even  to  consider  the  possibilities  of  chicanery. 

The  only  glimmer  of  light  he  could  discern  lay  in 
the  chance  that  something  might  offer  at  the  time  of 
the  transference  of  the  property  from  Billy  to  the  East 
ern  capitalists.  This  was  the  inspiration  that  had  oc 
curred  to  him  in  Durand's  cabin.  He  had  come  to 
know  Billy's  sanguine  temperament,  his  enthusiastic 
predilection  for  seeing  things  rose-hued,  and  he 
thought  it  very  possible  that  the  Westerner's  repre 
sentations  to  the  capitalists  might  not  bear  too  search- 


194  THE   WESTERNERS 

ing  analysis.  Overpraise  of  property  might  easily  be 
construed  as  false  representation.  Too  graphic  a  de 
scription  of  natural  advantages  might  easily  be  twisted 
imto  an  attempt  to  obtain  money  under  false  pretences. 
A  skilful  man  might  be  able  to  discredit  Billy  so  far 
that  the  transaction  would  fall  through ;  and  with  the 
failure  of  this  sale,  on  which  the  hopes  of  Billy's  com 
panions  were  built,  the  promoter's  prestige  would  co1- 
lapse  entirely. 

With  this  sketch  of  a  plan  in  mind,  Lafond  applied 
himself  diligently  to  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  property.  That,  at  least,  was  not  difficult.  All 
he  had  to  do  was  to  go  to  Billy,  and  say,  "  Look  here, 
Knapp,  they  tell  me  you've  got  quite  an  outfit  here. 
Show  me  around,  won't  you  ?  "  The  Westerner  was 
only  too  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  expatiate.  He 
took  Lafond  down  every  prospect  shaft,  over  every 
surface  indication.  He  explained  them  all  minutely. 
When  he  had  finished,  he  gave  Lafond  carefully  se 
lected  samples  from  all  of  the  vein  fillings.  The  half- 
breed  told  him  he  wanted  them  for  the  purposes  of 
exhibition. 

"  I  got  a  first  class  shelf  down  in  the  Nugget/'  he 
said;  "an'  I  think  if  we'd  jest  put  a  line  of  samples 
along  it  from  all  the  claims,  and  label  'em,  it  would  be 
a  pretty  good  *  ad/  don't  you  ?  " 

Billy  did.  So  the  two  "  sampled  "  as  carefully  as 
for  an  assay  test  in  the  School  of  Mines  at  Rapid. 
About  half  of  the  result  Lafond  exhibited  as  he  had 
suggested,  but  the  rest  he  preserved  carefully  for  assay 
tests  of  his  own. 

To  be  sure,  Billy  had  quite  freely  shown  him  his 
own  official  tests  made  at  the  School  of  Mines,  but 


LAFOND  MAKES   A   FRIEND     195 

Lafond  wanted  his  information  more  direct.  He  could 
not  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  reports.  But  there  was 
always  a  possibility  that  the  sampling  had  not  been 
fairly  done.  He  was  sure  of  these  other  "  averages," 
for  he  had  helped  take  them.  He  liked  to  have  things 
under  his  own  eye,  and  it  was  for  this  reason  he  had 
first  suggested  to  Durand  that  he  would  like  to  take 
lessons  in  the  art  of  assaying. 

At  first  he  had  intended  to  use  the  old  entomolo 
gist  merely  as  a  convenience,  but  later,  as  he  became 
more  intimate  with  the  man  through  his  work,  he  act 
ually  began  to  entertain  for  him  a  friendship — his  first 
in  over  fifteen  years.  With  all  men  he  had  been 
friendly;  with  none  had  he  been  friends.  Here  he 
proved  a  really  generous  emotion,  opening  his  heart  to 
the  soft  influences  of  affection  and  memory,  allowing 
himself  in  this  one  instance  an  intimacy  absolutely 
without  ulterior  motive.  It  all  dated  from  the  first 
day,  when  a  chance  question  of  Durand's  touched  the 
springs  of  the  half-breed's  youth. 

They  had  adjourned  that  afternoon  to  the  work 
shop,  where  Durand  built  a  charcoal  fire  in  a  little 
furnace  and  gathered  about  him  a  choice  assortment 
of  curious  implements.  After  the  furnace  was  well 
heated,  he  roasted  the  ore  Lafond  had  brought  with 
him,  heating  it  through  and  through,  until  finally  the 
fumes  of  sulphur,  antimony  and  arsenic  ceased  to  arise 
from  the  chalk-lined  iron  basin.  While  the  process 
was  going  forward  Durand  explained  pleasantly  the 
various  steps  of  the  chemical  change,  interspersing 
much  extraneous  information — as,  for  instance,  how 
Winkler,  Tcheffkin  and  Merrick  claim  that  there  is 
here  a  loss  of  gold,  which  Crookes  denies — to  all  of 


196  THE  WESTERNERS 

which  Michail  Lafond  lent  but  an  inattentive  ear.  He 
was  little  interested  in  theory ;  but  observing  the  old 
man's  delight  in  the  scientific  aspect  of  the  experiment, 
he  feigned  corresponding  pleasure  on  his  own  part. 

Then  they  spread  a  flux  of  granulated  lead  over  a 
crucible,  in  appropriate  juxtaposition  with  the  roasted 
ore.  For  nearly  two  hours  it  was  fused  ;  and  as  there 
was  nothing  to  do  until  the  slag  of  impurities  had 
formed  about  the  bright  metal  in  the  centre,  the  men 
talked  much  to  each  other  while  waiting. 

When  the  ore  was  completely  fused,  Durand  seized 
the  result  in  a  pair  of  forceps.  With  a  small  hammer  he 
broke  away  the  great  masses  of  clotted  slag.  A  small 
bright  metal  button  remained. 

"  This  is  the  lead,  the  silver  and  the  gold,"  explained 
Durand,  "  and  it  is  here  that  we  exercise  care.  All 
else  is  as  child's  play." 

He  flattened  the  button  on  an  anvil,  and  cut  it  into 
several  pieces.  These  he  placed  in  the  little  porous 
vessels  made  of  compressed  bone  ash,  called  cupels, 
which  had  been  slowly  heating  in  the  furnace.  The 
surface  of  the  lead  filmed  over.  In  a  moment  it  turned 
bright.  Then  fumes  began  to  arise. 

Durand's  attention  became  fixed.  His  hand  was 
constantly  at  the  furnace  valve,  admitting  or  exclud 
ing  more  air  according  as  he  desired  the  temperature 
to  rise  or  fall. 

"  It  is  this  which  is  difficult,"  he  explained  from 
the  corner  of  his  mouth.  "  If  the  heat  is  too  great, 
some  precious  metal  escapes  with  the  lead.  If  the 
heat  is  too  little,  the  lead  is  not  all  driven  away." 

Lafond  was  attentive  enough  to  this.  He  desired 
above  all  the  practical  knowledge. 


LAFOND   MAKES   A   FRIEND     197 

"  Observe  the  fumes,"  said  Durand ;  "  that  is  the 
true  test.  When  they  whirl  above  the  molten  metal, 
then  is  everything  well.  When  the  fumes  do  creep 
slowly  like  the  mist  on  a  stream,  then  the  heat  is  not 
sufficient.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  do  rise  straight 
upward,  then  it  is  necessary  to  reduce  the  heat  at  once." 

After  a  time  the  remaining  impurities,  under  Du- 
rand's  skilful  manipulation,  were  absorbed  by  the 
cupels.  The  little  vessels  were  drawn  from  the  furnace 
and  placed  to  one  side  to  cool.  A  small  yellow  button 
was  finally  detached  with  pincers. 

"  That  then  is  the  gold !  "  cried  Lafond. 

"  And  silver,"  corrected  Durand  gently.  He 
weighed  the  button  with  great  care.  Then  with  nitric 
acid  he  ate  out  the  silver.  The  result  was  weighed. 
The  assay  was  finished.  By  comparing  the  weights 
of  the  original  ore.  the  cupelled  button  and  the  final 
product,  statistics  were  obtained. 

The  men  drew  a  long  sigh  of  relief  now  that  the 
task  was  quite  finished. 

"  It  is  hard  work,"  observed  Durand. 

"  It  is  very  good  of  you  to  take  so  much  trouble 
for  me,"  replied  Lafond,  for  the  sake  of  politeness. 

"  I  like  you,"  explained  the  old  man  simply,  "  be 
cause  you  speak  French  and  because  there  is  some 
thing  in  your  face  that  shows  that  you  too  have  been 
wronged,  and  that  perhaps,  like  myself,  in  your  youth 
you  have  been  light-hearted  and  were  loved  by  maid 
and  man  with  the  love  that  is  given  the  reckless — and 
foolish,"  he  concluded  with  a  little  bitterness. 

Inexplicably  this  appealed  to  Lafond,  so  that  he 
almost  wept  with  the  sheer  joy  of  it. 

"  It  is  true,  and  you  are  my  brother  to  have  seen  it 


198  THE   WESTERNERS 

thus,"  he  cried,  lapsing  unconsciously  into  the  idiom 
of  the  Sioux. 

They  washed  their  hands  and  went  into  the  other 
cabin,  where  they  sat  in  the  chairs  made  of  barrels, 
and  Lafond  talked,  talked,  talked,  until  the  dusk  of 
twilight  descended  upon  them  and  stole  away  even 
the  white  butterfly  cases. 

He  spoke  swiftly  and  animatedly  and  with  much 
gesticulation.  Men  will  tell  you  to-day  that  his  speech 
was  deliberate,  scant,  reserved. 

It  was  all  of  his  youth.  He  described  with  abandon 
and  fire  the  tall  pines,  the  still  darkling  river  running 
beneath  the  cedars  and  birches ;  the  cabins,  antler 
crowned,  and  the  little  gardens  of  their  dooryard.  He 
related  tenderly  the  life  of  those  old  days — the  dance  in 
winter  to  the  music  of  a  single  fiddle,  and  the  snow 
shoe  journey  homeward  under  the  white  stars,  with 
mayhap  a  kiss  upon  a  rosy  cheek  and  a  slap  from  a  mit- 
tened  hand  at  the  end  of  it ;  the  wild  exhilarating  dan 
gers  of  log  running  in  the  spring ;  the  canoe  journey, 
the  camping,  the  fishing,  through  all  that  watered 
north  country  of  the  fir-girdled  lakes  and  trout- 
haunted  streams  in  summer ;  the  calling  of  the  moose 
under  the  round  harvest  moon,  the  stalking  of  the 
white-tailed  deer,  the  corn  frolics  whereat  were  more 
of  the  full-blossomed  low-voiced  chatterers  not  un 
willing  to  be  wooed  under  that  same  great  moon, 
through  whose  shower  of  silver  light  the  bull  moose 
called  to  his  mate,  also  not  unwilling.  These  things 
the  half-breed  told  in  that  marvellous  musical  voice 
which,  with  his  expressive  eyes,  was  now  his  greatest 
charm.  He  told  also  more  personally  of  his  own  youth. 
There  had  been  a  time  when  Michail  Lafond  had  been 


LAFOND  MAKES   A   FRIEND     199 

straight  and  clear-eyed  and  handsome.  At  the  dances 
and  the  corn  frolics  the  fairest  of  the  maidens  was  not 
so  very  coy  to  him.  In  the  log  running  Michai'l  Lafond 
was  the  man  always  called  upon  to  skim  over  the  bob 
bing  logs  under  the  very  imminence  of  the  jam  ;  his  was 
the  peavy  that  moved  the  bit  of  timber  which  locked  the 
whole ;  his  the  merry  laugh  as  he  had  lightly  escaped 
the  plunging  foaming  death.  On  and  still  on  the 
voice  rolled,  until  suddenly  the  room  was  silent  and 
dark,  and  the  man  in  the  corner  had  arisen  abruptly 
and  gone  out,  and  the  white-haired  naturalist  was  left 
alone,  one  hand  on  each  arm  of  his  chair,  looking 
straight  before  him,  beyond  the  cabin  walls,  beyond 
the  years. 

Next  day  Lafond  came  again,  and  the  next  and  the 
next.  The  assays  were  all  finished  and  tabulated. 
Still  he  continued  to  come,  as  usual,  each  afternoon, 
for  an  hour  or  so  at  least.  Durand  did  not  smoke  him 
self,  but  he  kept  a  pipe  and  a  package  of  tobacco  al 
ways  on  the  table  for  his  visitor.  They  clasped  each 
other's  hands  with  fervor  when  they  met  and  parted. 
They  called  each  other  "  mon  vieux."  And,  what  is 
more,  they  could  sit  quite  silent  for  hours  without  em 
barrassing  each  other  in  the  least. 

The  men  in  the  camp  noticed  this  intimacy  and  com 
mented  on  it. 

"  Clar  case  of  millennium,"  said  Bill  Martin,  "  Lion 
an'  th'  lamb.  Ain't  no  other  way  to  explain  it,  fer  what 
good  Mike  ever  gets  out  of  that  nutty  old  Bugchaset 
is  beyond  me  !  " 

Not  that  anyone  cared.  Everybody  was  at  this  mo 
ment  speculating  earnestly  on  all  possible  results, 
good,  bad,  or  indifferent,  of  the  pending  visit  of  the 


200  THE  WESTERNERS 

Chicago  tenderfeet.  Although,  strictly  speaking,  their 
decision  had  only  to  do  with  the  Great  Snake,  it  was 
well  understood  that  it  fixed  also  the  value  of  every 
other  piece  of  property  within  a  circumference  of  fifty 
miles.  Little  did  those  three  tenderfeet  realize,  as  they 
dutifully  changed  cars  at  Grand  Island,  Edgemont, 
and  other  way  stations,  how  much  their  holiday  jaunt, 
as  it  was  to  them,  meant  to  a  whole  community  of 
reasonably  hard-working  men. 

Lafond  was  the  most  interested  of  all,  because,  to 
his  disgust,  the  assays  had  been  good,  so  good  that 
the  "  false  pretence  "  scheme  would  have  to  be  given 
up.  He  found  himself,  as  usual,  facing  a  situation 
with  not  much  more  than  luck  to  depend  on.  But 
he  always  had  good  luck. 


XXII 

IN  WHICH  THE  TENDERFEET  CONDUCT 

A  SHOOTING   MATCH   AND    GLORIFY 

PETER 


THE  most  important  event  in  the  history  of 
Copper  Creek  was  indeed  at  hand.  The  long- 
awaited  Easterners  were  to  arrive  that  very  day 
to  look  over  the  property.  Billy  Knapp  had  already 
driven  to  Rapid  to  meet  them,  and  their  coming  was 
momentarily  expected. 

The  camp  had  discussed  long  and  heatedly  the 
method  of  their  reception.  Billy  Knapp,  and  with  him 
a  strong  contingent,  advocated  best  clothes,  an  im 
ported  brass  band,  and  a  generally  festal  appearance 
of  evergreens  and  bunting.  But  this,  Moroney,  La- 
fond  and  Graham  decidedly  opposed. 

"  The  way  to  make  men  give  you  things,"  said  the 
last,  "  is  to  pretend  you  don't  want  them." 

But  it  was  Moroney's  eloquence  that  carried  the  day. 
In  fervid  rhetoric  he  pointed  out  that  men  were  more 
apt  to  join  an  already  prosperous  community  than  to 
furnish  prosperity  to  one  sadly  in  need  of  it.  He  also 
pointed  out  many  other  things,  including  the  Battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  and  the  Bird  of  Freedom.  But  that 
was  what  he  meant. 

So  when  Billy  and  the  buckboard  drove  dashingly 
up  to  Bill  Martin's  stoop,  the  white  road  was  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  deserted — unnaturally  so,  for  not 

201 


202  THE    WESTERNERS 

a  living  thing  was  to  be  seen  from  one  end  of  it  to  the 
other. 

"  Look's  if  your  town  was  dead,"  remarked  one  of 
the  Easterners,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Oh  no !  "  reassured  Billy,  seized  with  a  sudden 
anxiety  lest  the  thing  had  been  overdone.  "  But  the 
boys  is  all  off  in  th'  Hills  workinY' 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  boys  were  doing  nothing  of 
the  kind.  They  were  behind  the  cracks  of  doors  and 
the  darkness  of  windows,  watching  eagerly  every  move 
of  the  disembarkation,  on  which  they  whispered  ex 
cited  comments.  Bill  Martin  was  there  outside,  of 
course ;  Lafond  sauntered  over  frcm  the  Little  Nug 
get  ;  the  gambler  sat  chair  tilted,  blowing  cigarette 
rings  toward  Ragged  Top,  never  even  turning  his  head 
to  see  the  arrivals,  imperturbable,  indifferent  as  ever ; 
Graham  and  Moroney  were  on  hand  by  especial  re 
quest  ;  and  of  course  no  one  could  keep  Peter  and  the 
Kid  away.  The  men  in  the  cabins  were  satisfied  with 
their  representatives.  They  need  not  worry  about 
Graham  and  Moroney  anyway. 

The  first  of  the  newcomers  rolled  out  over  the  wheel, 
stood  up  on  two  fat  legs,  and  shook  himself  in  a  man 
ner  which  proclaimed  to  the  dullest  that  his  round 
face  did  not  belie  his  good  humor.  He  at  once  looked 
about  him  and  laughed.  The  second  was  seen  to  be 
a  tall  spare  man,  gray-faced,  deep-lined,  but  with  the 
wrinkles  of  laughter  about  his  eyes.  He  wore  a  long 
linen  duster  and  was  evidently  of  the  sort  that  seasons 
its  most  serious  transactions  with  a  dry  and  facetious 
humor.  The  third  was  short,  small,  and  irrepressible. 
He  looked  as  though  he  should  be  named  Frank,  as 
in  fact  he  was.  Although  all  three  were  dressed  for 


A   SHOOTING   MATCH  205 

travelling,  they  carried  with  them  a  solid  air  of  financial 
responsibility  quite  foreign  to  Copper  Creek's  expe 
rience,  a  certain  shrewdness  which  no  new  circum 
stance  could  ever  abash  to  the  extent  of  forgetting  the 
swiftest  means  to  the  main  chance.  But  over  this 
shrewdness  now  was  brushed  a  film  of  optimism,  the 
over-abundant  hilarity  of  a  business  man  on  a  holiday 
outside  his  accustomed  surroundings,  expanding  in 
high  spirits,  persiflage,  and  practical  jokes.  During 
their  stay  in  Copper  Creek  this  never  left  them.  They 
were  as  delighted  with  the  country  as  children  with 
a  new  toy,  and  took  it  about  as  seriously. 

The  concealed  onlookers  saw  the  little  group  stand 
talking  a  moment,  and  then  turn  into  the  hotel.  Black 
Jack  unloaded  from  the  back  of  the  buckboard  several 
substantial  leather-bound  valises.  Billy  drove  the 
horses  home  and  returned  on  foot.  He  was  pounced 
upon  eagerly.  Billy  was  still  glowing  with  self-in 
duced  enthusiasm  over  Copper  Creek. 

"  It's  all  right,  boys !  "  he  cried  exultantly.  "  They 
shore  has  the  right  idee!  They  tells  me  they  thinks 
this  is  shore  the  finest  kentry  they  ever  see !  " 

"  What  to  do  next  ?  "  they  inquired  anxiously. 

"Do?  Nothin'!  This  ain't  no  circus.  When  th' 
grub  bell  rings,  mosey  on  over  as  usual,  and  a'ter 
feedin'  we  institutes  some  sort  of  a  game  outside." 

When  the  grub  bell  rang,  the  miners  filed  solemnly 
into  the  dining-room,  darting  covert  glances  at  the 
three  visitors,  already  seated  with  their  entertainers. 
Some  nodded  solemnly.  The  Easterners  were  laugh 
ing  and  joking  each  other  in  the  most  childish 
fashion. 

"  By  Jove,  there's  a  girl ;  only  one  I've  seen !  "  cried 


204  THE   WESTERNERS 

the  little  man  named  Frank,  as  Molly  came  in  and  took 
her  seat  at  another  table. 

"  What  of  it  ? "  asked  Stevens,  the  tall  man,  with 
his  mouth  full  of  Black  Jack's  boiled  potatoes. 

"  But  she's  a  pretty  girl." 

Murphy,  the  fat  jolly  one,  carefully  removed  his  but 
ter  and  soda  biscuits,  of  which  the  visible  supply 
seemed  limited,  beyond  Frank's  reach,  and  ventured 
a  glance. 

"  She  is  pretty,"  he  agreed,  firmly  thwarting  the  lit 
tle  man's  attempt  to  steal  the  butter  in  spite  of  his 
precautions. 

He  turned  to  Dan  Barker  and  resumed  a  labored 
discussion  of  the  country's  game  and  fishing.  The 
tall  man  took  up  his  conversation  with  Billy. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  go  through  that  every  morning. 
I  find  it  invaluable.  It  keeps  me  as  hard  as  nails. 
Feel  there !  " 

He  doubled  his  arm,  and  Billy  placed  his  huge 
fingers  gingerly  over  the  Easterner's  biceps.  Down 
the  long  table  the  miners  and  prospectors  ate  uneasily, 
with  frequent  glances  toward  the  noisy  strangers,  ex 
changing  rare  low-voiced  comments,  and  twisting 
their  feet.  Between  Molly  and  the  man  whom  the 
others  calkd  Frank  there  sprang  up  an  incipient 
flirtation  of  glances. 

After  dinner  everybody  went  outside  into  the  open 
air,  where  the  gathering  relaxed  its  formality  and  men 
breathed  more  freely.  Murphy  conversed  with  several 
on  the  subject  of  Colt's  forty-fives.  He  expressed  a 
desire  for  a  shooting  match,  to  which  end  he  borrowed 
Billy's  six-shooter,  and  handled  it  so  recklessly  that 
everybody  wanted  to  duck. 


A   SHOOTING   MATCH  205 

Finally  he  planted  the  muzzle  firmly  between  his 
fat  legs,  rested  both  hands  on  the  butt,  and  looked 
about  him  triumphantly. 

"What '11  I  hit?"  he  asked. 

"  God  knows  !  "  ejaculated  the  tall  man  :  "  but  you 
can  shoot  at  this."  He  drew  an  envelope  from  his 
pocket,  and  turned  toward  a  small  board  box  resting 
against  the  stump  of  a  tree.  Bill  Martin  started  for 
ward  in  alarm. 

"  Hoi'  on !  "  cried  he,  "  I  got  some  chickens  in  that 
thar  coop !  " 

The  tall  man  turned  and  wrung  his  hand  in  a  mock 
access  of  gratitude.  "  Thank  you !  thank  you !  "  he 
cried  fervently.  "  To  think  how  near  I  came  to  hav 
ing  the  blood  of  those  innocent  chickens  on  ray  head ! 
I  shall  never  cease  to  feel  grateful  to  you,  sir !  " 

He  marched  over  to  the  coop  and  pinned  the  en 
velope  square  in  the  middle  of  it. 

"  There,"  said  he,  stepping  back  with  an  air  of  satis 
faction.  "  Now  the  chickens  are  perfectly  safe !  " 

The  proprietor  grinned  very  doubtfully.  Several 
men  laughed,  one  after  the  other,  as  the  joke  pene 
trated. 

"  You  go  to  hell,  Steve,"  said  the  fat  man,  bubbling 
all  over. 

He  raised  the  long  six-shooter  with  an  easy  gesture. 

"  They're  just  as  good  as  meat !  "  he  asserted  con 
fidently  as  he  squinted  over  the  sights.  A  breathless 
pause  ensued. 

"  Always  cock  your  pistol  before  shooting,"  Frank 
finally  admonished  in  a  soft  and  didactic  voice. 

Murphy,  red-faced,  muttered  something  about  self- 
cockers  and  tried  again.  This  time  the  pause  was  sue- 


2o6  THE   WESTERNERS 

ceeded  by  a  deafening  report,  and  the  pistol  leaped 
wildly.  From  the  coop  burst  a  single  frightened 
squawk.  Murphy  beamed. 

All  crowded  about  the  box,  examining  for  the  bul 
let  hole.  On  the  instant,  Frank  became  wildly  and 
triumphantly  excited,  dancing  about  the  motionless 
end  of  an  index  ringer  which  pointed  toward  the  un- 
scratched  coop.  The  marksman  looked  nonplussed 
for  a  single  instant.  Then  his  face  cleared. 

"  It  went  right  in  through  that !  "  he  claimed  ar 
rogantly,  pointing  the  barrel  of  the  revolver  toward  a 
small  knot  hole.  The  other  two  men  at  once  gave 
vent  to  snorts  of  derisive  contempt.  "  Prove  that  it 
didn't,"  insisted  the  fat  one.  "  Just  prove  that  it  didn't, 
and  Fll  pay  up."  He  tucked  his  thumbs  into  the  lower 
pockets  of  his  waistcoat,  supporting  the  revolver  pen 
dent  on  one  forefinger,  and  smiled  broadly. 

Billy's  straightforward  mind  saw  no  diplomacy  be 
yond  the  inexorable  logic  of  the  situation.  "  Thar 
ought  t'  be  a  bullet  hole  in  th'  other  side  of  th'  coop 
then,"  he  suggested  in  a  modest  voice. 

Murphy  cast  upon  him  the  glance  of  reproach. 

"  I  give  up,"  he  confessed  with  grieved  dignity,  and, 
without  awaiting  an  investigation,  turned  toward  the 
saloon.  "  It  means  drinks,"  he  observed  laconically* 
"  All  of  you !  "  he  added  to  the  crowd. 

Near  the  door  Peter  fell  in  with  the  procession.  The 
tall  man  seized  upon  him  before  even  that  experienced 
animal  could  escape.  After  an  ineffectual  lunge  or  so 
backward  toward  his  haunches,  the  homely  dog  seemed 
to  realize  that  no  harm  was  intended,  and  so  became 
quiet.  Stevens  passed  his  hands  rapidly  down  Peter's 
back  and  haunches,  lifted  him  first  off  his  fore 


A   SHOOTING   MATCH  207 

legs,  then  off  his  hind  legs,  watching  carefully  the 
exact  position  he  assumed  when  he  touched  the  ground 
again,  pushed  his  gums  away  from  his  teeth,  and 
moulded  through  the  ringers  the  outline  of  his  head. 

"  It's  a  genuine  Airedale,"  he  asserted  with  interest. 
"  Who  does  he  belong  to,  and  where  did  he  come 
from?" 

Nobody  knew. 

"  I  don't  suppose  there's  another  west  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,"  he  went  on.  "  It's  a  peculiar  breed,  built  for 
scrapping."  The  men  gathered  about  with  a  new  in 
terest  in  Peter.  "  Don't  know  just  what  the  strain  is, 
but  it's  bred  in  the  valley  of  the  Aire,  in  England.  The 
laboring  classes  there  mostly  make  furniture,  and  as 
they  work  by  the  piece,  they  can  take  all  the  time  off 
they  want.  Consequently  they're  a  sporty  lot,  and  go 
in  for  cock  fighting  and  racing  and  badger  baiting, 
but,  most  of  all,  dog  righting.  They  evolved  this  strain 
from  something  or  other.  A  good  Airedale  can  lick 
anything  except  a  Great  Dane,  and  he  falls  down  there 
only  because  the  Dane's  too  big  for  him." 

"  I  know  of  a  bull  terrier — "  began  Murphy. 

"  Your  bull  wouldn't  be  ace  high.  Look  at  the 
teeth  on  him  !  Get  on  to  the  thickness  of  those  bones  t 
Do  you  think  teeth  would  stick  on  that  slippery  bristle 
coat  of  his  ?  or,  if  they  did,  do  you  think  they  would  get 
into  that  tough  loose  hide  very  hard?  "  He  suddenly 
released  Peter  and  stood  up.  "  Frank,"  said  he, 
"  come  here  and  size  up  this  pup." 

Peter  shook  himself  and  walked  gravely  into  the 
arms  of  the  adoring  Kid.  The  Kid  had  listened  open- 
mouthed  to  every  word  of  the  expert's  statement. 

But  Frank  had  disappeared.  The  incipient  flirta 
tion  had  developed. 


XXIII 

A   FOOL   FOR   LUCK 

WHEN  it  is  a  question  of  mining,  the  most 
cautious  business  man  loses  his  head. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  realize  the  fact  that  the 
Western  property  must  not  be  judged  by  Eastern 
standards. 

These  two  short  paragraphs  state  the  main  reasons 
why,  in  the  first  place,  so  much  capital  is  sown  in  waste 
places;  and  why,  in  the  second  place,  Western  gold 
mines  have  so  bad  a  reputation  among  investors.  Nine 
out  of  ten  of  the  legitimate  mines  of  our  Western 
States  would  be  good  investments  if  they  could  be  run 
as  carefully  and  intelligently  as  is  any  wholesale  gro 
cery.  The  expectation  of  big  gambling  returns  seems 
to  render  men  careless  as  to  the  smaller  details. 

Why  this  should  be  so,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say. 
Of  the  truth  of  the  statement  there  is  absolutely  no 
doubt  in  the  world,  as  anyone  who  knows  the  history 
of  the  West  can  testify. 

During  the  three  days'  duration  of  their  stay,  the 
Easterners  looked  at  facts,  incomprehensible  to  the 
eyes  of  such  as  they,  through  the  explanations,  honest 
enough  in  intention,  of  Billy  Knapp.  He  led  them, 
perspiring  but  pleased,  from  prospect  to  prospect,  from 
shaft  to  shaft,  from  hill  to  hill.  He  showed  them  leads, 
fissure  veins,  red  quartz,  white  quartz,  water  sup 
plies,  timberings,  hanging  walls,  country  rock,  pan 
tests,  and  he  talked  about  it  all  with  that  easy  fluency 


A   FOOL   FOR   LUCK  209 

of  eloquence,  that  flattering  assumption  of  the  other 
man's  sophistication,  which  is  so  peculiarly  a  talent — 
nay,  a  genius — of  the  Westerner. 

Some  trades  there  are  for  which  all  men  imagine 
themselves  qualified  without  especial  training — such 
as  horse  buying,  writing  stories,  judging  pictures,  and 
mining.  This  is  a  little  strange  when  one  reflects  that 
other  things,  such  as  painting,  skating,  keeping  ac 
counts,  or  making  a  horseshoe,  while  not  a  whit  more 
difficult,  are  acknowledged  to  require  a  certain  amount 
of  technical  education  and  practice.  Perhaps  it  is  be 
cause  the  initial  concept  is  so  simple ;  as,  in  this  case, 
the  digging  of  ore  from  the  ground,  and  the  reduction 
of  it.  Details  come,  not  from  observation,  but  from 
actual  experience.  Anybody,  on  the  other  hand,  can 
see,  without  understanding,  the  complexity  of  double- 
entry  bookkeeping. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day,  the  Easterners, 
Billy  Knapp,  and  Michai'l  Lafond  gathered  formally 
to  talk  it  over.  The  latter  contrived  to  be  included 
because  he  was  a  man  of  experience.  After  some  little 
preliminary  discussion,  in  which  the  Easterners 
showed  by  their  airy  familiarity  with  the  topic  just 
how  much  of  the  local  color  had  soaked  in,  Stevens 
rapped  on  the  table. 

"  Although  this  is  not  strictly  a  business  meeting," 
he  began,  "  perhaps  we  can  get  at  what  we  want  better 
by  putting  some  little  formality  into  its  discussions. 
The  question  before  us  is  this :  Mr.  Knapp  here  pos 
sesses  certain  property  which  he  wishes  to  dispose  of. 
We  have  been  over  it  thoroughly  in  the  last  few  days, 
we  have  examined  the  figures  relating  to  its  assays 
and  the  gross  value  of  the  claims.  They  have  been 


210  THE   WESTERNERS 

satisfactory.  We  have  next,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to 
figure  on  the  probable  working  expense,  in  order  that 
we  may,  with  some  intelligence,  estimate  the  margin 
of  profit."  He  sorted  over  some  papers  on  the  table 
before  him.  "  Let  us  take  up  the  Great  Snake  lode 
first.  What,  in  your  idea,  would  be  necessary  for  its 
development  ?  " 

"  Wall,"  began  Billy,  rising  formally.  "  They  is 
practically  two  leads  on  th'  Great  Snake ;  an'  if  you-all 
•decides  to  work  'em  both,  you'd  want  a  shaft  on  each. 
A  plain-timbered  shaft  costs  you  yere  about  twenty  to 
twenty-five  dollars  a  foot.  Then  you  needs  cross-cuts, 
and  drif's  at  about  five  or  ten  a  foot  besides — that  in 
cludes  everythin' — men,  tools,  powder.  Then  yore 
pump  an'  hoist  is  worth  about  two  or  three  thousan', 
includin'  minin'  expenses  for  two  months.  That's  all 
th'  actual  expense  connected  with  th'  Great  Snake  it 
self;  but  of  course  you  has  to  have  yore  stamp  mill 
and  washer  for  all  the  group  of  claims.  A  good  stamp 
mill  costs  you  ten  thousan'  dollars,  but  it's  good  fqr- 
ever." 

"  How  much  shaft  and  tunnel  would  you  have  to 
sink  before  getting  to  a  paying  basis  ?  "  asked  Frank 
briefly. 

"  That  would  depen'.  You  wants  to  get  to  water 
level,  of  course,  afore  yore  shore;  but  it  might  pay 
I  right  squar'  from  th'  surface.  Count  on  a  hunderd 
foot." 

"  And  when  you  get  to  pay  level,  what  capacity  a 
day  would  you  have  ?  " 

Billy  laughed.  "  That  depen's  too.  You  can  put  on 
more  or  less  men.  Call  her  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
ton  a  day." 


A   FOOL   FOR   LUCK  211 

They  bent  their  heads  together  over  the  figures. 
After  a  little  Stevens  read  the  following  tabulation : — 

2  shafts  of  100  feet  each  @  20.00  .        .        .  $4,000.00 

Cross-cuts  and  drifts,  say    ....  1,200.00 

Pump  and  hoist 2,000.00 

i-io  of  the  cost  of  mill   (there  were  ten 

claims) 1,000.00 

Initial  expense       .        ...        .        .    $8,200.00 

"  That  thar  figger,"  observed  Billy,  "  brings  her 
right  up  to  date  without  no  squealin'  whatever.  Yere 
you  riggers  on  taking  good  hard  rock  out  of  four  hun- 
derd  foot  of  tunnel  an'  shaft.  Lots  of  that  is  pay  quartz. 
You  got  to  figger  that  you  gets  some  return  out  of  it 
all.  They's  a  good  many  ton  of  ore  in  four  hundred 
foot  of  shaft !  " 

"That  is  true,"  said  Murphy.  "There  won't  be 
eight  thousand  outlay  without  any  return." 

"  Yore  dead  right !  "  agreed  Billy. 

"  Let  that  go  for  now,"  interrupted  Stevens.  "  We 
can  call  that  *  velvet.'  Now  what  we  want  to  know 
is,  what  will  be  the  working  expense  of  converting  the 
ore  into  gold  when  the  initial  expense  is  over?  " 

"  Call  her  about  five  dollars,"  replied  Billy  promptly. 

Stevens  consulted  the  assay  table.  "  The  ore  on 
the  Great  Snake  as  shown  by  samples  taken  from 
various  spots  in  the  prospect  shaft  averages  $8.55," 
said  he.  He  figured  for  a  moment.  "  Allow  $3.00  a 
ton  profit  at  twenty  tons  a  day,  it  would  take  only  a 
little  over  four  months  to  catch  the  initial  expense." 

"  Of  course  there's  your  running  expenses  of  a 
camp,"  suggested  Frank. 


212  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Oh  yes,  but  look  at  the  margin  to  cover  them." 

They  went  on  to  the  next,  and  the  next,  until  the 
ten  claims  were  all  figured  over.  Not  all  showed  as 
alluring  a  prospect  as  the  Great  Snake,  for  that  was 
admittedly  the  banner  claim  of  the  group,  but  all 
yielded  a  good  margin  of  profit.  It  was  simple  as  a 
proposition  in  algebra.  Assay  value  minus  cost  of 
production  equals  profits.  There  was  no  unknown 
quantity  in  sight.  Lafond  alone  saw  one,  and  he  held 
his  peace. 

One  more  item  the  Easterners  had  to  include,  and 
this,  falling  within  their  business  habits,  and  out  of 
Billy's,  they  arranged  to  their  own  satisfaction.  It  was 
Billy's  price  for  his  claims. 

"  Now  what  are  your  ideas  on  the  subject,  Mr. 
Knapp  ?  "  asked  Stevens  briskly. 

Billy  hesitated.  "  Mebbe  it's  funny/'  he  confessed ; 
"  but  I  hadn't  settled  on  a  price.  I  know  you  gentle 
men  '11  do  what  is  right.  But  I  would  like  to  stay  with 
her  a  bit." 

"Stay  with  her?" 

"  Yes,"  explained  Billy,  embarrassed.  "  Keep  a 
holt ;  sort  to  be  interested  myself,  you  know."  There 
spoke  Billy's  vanity. 

The  three  talked  together  low-voiced  for  a  moment. 
They  had  conceived  a  vast  respect  for  Billy's  capacity 
in  the  West,  however  unsophisticated  he  might  appear 
in  the  East;  and  they  had  long  before  talked  out  in 
anticipation  just  this  point.  Stevens^piced  their  de 
cision. 

"  We  have  decided,  Mr.  Knapp,"  he  began,  "  to  ask 
you  to  be  our  superintendent,  provided  of  course  the 
company  is  formed.  We  feel  sure  that  your  best  ef- 


A   FOOL   FOR   LUCK  213 

forts  will  be  expended  in  our  behalf,  because  your  in 
terests  will  be  ours."  Then  he  went  on  briefly  to 
flatter  Billy  exceedingly,  until  that  individual  was  ready 
to  weep  with  joy.  "  Our  proposition  is  this,"  he  con 
cluded.  "  We  intend  to  form  a  stock  company  of  two 
hundred  thousand  shares  at  one  dollar  a  share,  non 
assessable.  Of  this  amount  a  majority  will  be  held 
by  the  promoters  of  the  company,  some  other  smaller 
amount  will  remain  in  the  treasury,  and,  say,  fifty  thou 
sand  will  be  floated  on  the  market.  Our  offer  is,  to 
make  you  superintendent  at  a  nominal  salary  of  five 
thousand,  and  to  give  you  in  addition  thirty  thousand 
promoter's  shares  as  your  price  of  the  claims.  These 
shares  you  may  either  sell  or  keep.  Thus  you  may 
either  take  a  certain  sum  of  money,  or  you  may  pool 
your  interests  with  ours,  confident  that  every  good 
showing  made  by  you  as  superintendent  will  increase 
the  value  of  your  holding  as  participator  in  the  enter 
prise.  In  other  words  it  gives  you  a  personal  interest 
in  your  work  here.  What  do  you  say  ?  " 

"  Heads  I  win,  tails  you  lose,"  said  Lafond  over  in 
the  corner,  but  he  said  it  under  his  breath. 

To  Billy  it  was  all  gorgeous.  He  saw  only  that  he 
was  offered  thirty  thousand  dollars  and  five  thousand 
a  year,  in  addition  to  keeping  the  position  of  promi 
nence  he  coveted.  To  him  the  paper  dollar  shares 
looked  as  good  as  paper  dollar  bills. 

"  What  do  I  say  ?  "  he  cried,  "  I  say  '  put  her  thar/ 
and  thank  you.  Let's  go  have  a  drink !  " 

So  the  meeftng  adjourned,  wonderfully  inspirited, 
especially  Micha'il  Lafond,  for  at  last  he  saw  a  chance. 

As  he  looked  up  at  the  stars  that  night  before  turn- 


214  THE   WESTERNERS 

ing  in,  he  made  a  quaint  little  sign  on  high.  It  was 
the  Indian  gesture  of  worship.  "  Lafond,"  he  purred 
to  himself,  "  you  are  a  fool  for  luck.  Rippling  Water 
used  to  say  you  were  born  under  a  lucky  star,  and  by 
the  Turtle,  I  believe  she  was  right !  " 

For  though  the  Easterners  thought  they  had  done 
well  in  paying  Billy  with  a  paper  futurity,  Lafond  saw 
two  sides  to  the  question.  The  meeting  had  been  con 
ducted,  apparently,  in  the  most  business-like  and 
painstaking  manner,  yet  it  was  to  be  noted  that  the 
fundamental  facts,  the  facts  on  whose  accuracy  de 
pended  the  whole  value  of  the  subsequent  figuring, 
were  accepted  on  Billy's  mere  say-so,  without  an  at 
tempt  at  outside  verification.  Billy  was  honest,  but  he 
was  superficial.  His  temperament  did  not  force  him 
to  search  out  the  little  details.  Micha'il  Lafond  was 
in  the  habit  of  searching  them  out  very  thoroughly. 

He  saw  that  one  claim,  because  of  its  peculiar  situa 
tion,  would  require  an  ore  bin  of  equally  peculiar  con 
struction  ;  that  it  might  perhaps  be  necessary  to  flume 
water  to  another ;  that  a  third,  though  its  surface  show 
ing  was  good,  gave  indications  of  being  nothing  but  a 
blow-out ;  that  though  the  assay  of  a  certain  ore  was 
high,  the  actual  working  value  might  be  low,  because 
of  the  refractory  character  of  the  rock.  In  regard  to 
mere  externals  of  camp-building,  his  experience  taught 
him  that  the  Easterners'  estimate  would  turn  out  to  be 
superficial.  His  view  from  the  inside  showed  him  that 
every  last  article  of  equipment  for  the  buildings,  and 
every  pound  of  machinery,  would  have  to  be  brought 
in  on  mules ;  that  men  might  not  always  be  easy  to  get 
in  a  new  country ;  that  hay  for  horses  came  from  a 
distant  prairie,  at  prices  that  corresponded  to  the  dis- 


A   FOOL   FOR   LUCK  215 

tance ;  that  the  enthusiastic  promoter  is  rarely  or  never 
the  careful,  painstaking  superintendent.  And  so  with 
a  hundred  other  items,  which  the  Easterners  had  en 
tirely  overlooked.  It  is  marvellous  that  they  should 
have  done  so.  Translate  gold  into  button  hooks,  the 
Hills  into  a  factory,  Billy  Knapp  into  an  impecunious 
small  proprietor  anxious  to  sell,  and  not  one  of  the 
three  would  have  gone  into  the  affair  so  blindly.  But 
it  is  true.  And  more,  the  history  of  this  operation  at 
Copper  Creek  is  the  faithful  history  of  a  myriad  of 
exactly  similar  enterprises  in  the  West.  Ask  your 
broker  friend,  or  anyone  in  a  position  to  watch  the 
floating  of  schemes  on  Change ;  he  will  tell  you. 

Having  settled  the  business  of  the  trip,  the  Eastern 
ers  spent  a  few  ridiculously  juvenile  days  in  pleasure. 
Billy  worked  himself  nearly  blind  to  get  them  a  shot 
at  deer,  but  without  success.  They  visited  Custer. 
On  their  way  back  to  the  railroad,  they  took  in  the 
Pine  Ridge  Reservation,  where  they  saw  five  thousand 
Sioux,  and  bought  beaded  moccasins  and  short  ill- 
made  arrows.  Finally  they  piled  on  the  Pullman> 
vastly  pleased  with  their  sunburn,  and  a  little  inclined 
to  swagger  in  the  presence  of  these  clean-shaven, 
quietly  civilized  travellers  who  had  not  just  left  the 
exciting  dangers  of  a  pioneer  country. 

Billy  accompanied  them.  His  presence  was  neces 
sary  in  Chicago  where  the  new  company  was  to  be 
"  floated  "  and  its  final  organization  brought  about. 

None  of  the  results  of  the  visit  were  as  yet  known 
officially,  but  of  course  a  well  verified  rumor  had  got 
about  that  the  Easterners  were  really  going  to  "  take 
hold  "  and  every  man  in  camp  was  at  the  hotel  door 
to  bid  the  visitors  farewell.  Micha'il  Lafond  was  the 


216  THE   WESTERNERS 

last  man  at  the  hub  of  the  wheel  before  the  horses 
started. 

"  I  am  glad  you  came,"  said  he,  holding  Stevens' 
hand  while  he  spoke,  "  and  I  am  glad  you  are  going 
to  invest  here.  It  will  help  us  all,  and  I  sincerely  hope 
it  will  help  you." 

Stevens  looked  at  him  suddenly,  as  if  to  discover 
whether  the  lack  of  confidence  in  the  words  was  re 
flected  in  the  man's  face.  Apparently  satisfied,  he 
replied  easily,  "  Course  it  will." 

"  Always  figure  on  the  safe  side,"  suggested  Lafond. 

"  You're  dead  right  there,"  responded  the  other, 
"  and  that  is  just  what  we've  done.  We've  put  down 
that  fifty  thousand  as  dead  clear  outlay  for  a  starter, 
without  any  offsets  by  way  of  return,  and  surely  some 
of  that  ore  will  pay  something  before  we  get  down  two 
hundred  feet.  Oh,  we're  all  right  on  that.  You'll  see 
us  booming  before  spring!  " 

Lafond  watched  the  wagon  out  of  sight  with  a  smile 
in  his  inscrutable  eyes.  Then  he  went  down  to  spend 
his  afternoon  with  Durand,  humming  the  remnants  of 
a  little  Canadian  chanson. 

"  A  fool  for  luck,"  he  repeated  t©  himself;  "  a  regu 
lar  fool  for  luck,  Lafond.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  sit 
right  still,  and  it  comes. to  you  without  the  effort  on 
your  part." 

Between  him  and  his  object  there  now  intervened 
but  fifty  thousand  dollars.  And  fifty  thousand  dollars 
was  not  an  unlimited  sum  of  money. 


XXIV 

BILLY  STARTS   IN   ON   HIS   FIFTY 
THOUSAND 

BILLY  was  gone  almost  a  month. 
During  that  interim  Lafond  had  absolutely 
nothing  to  do  but  wait,  for  his  affairs,  both  do 
mestic  and  foreign,  were  doing  well. 

"  A  fool  for  luck,  a  fool  for  luck,"  he  got  into  the 
habit  of  saying  to  himself,  but  with  somewhat  of  a 
congratulatory  ring  to  it,  as  though  he  were  a  little 
inclined  to  attribute  fortune's  favors  to  that  lady's 
appreciation  of  his  shrewdness.  If  luck  had  not 
favored  him,  he  would  have  had  to  accomplish  the 
same  results  himself.  It  was  a  labor-saving  device. 
Nevertheless,  as  time  went  on,  the  strong  underlying 
mysticism  in  his  nature  came  to  make  of  this  luck  of 
his  a  fetish  of  no  small  power.  Lafond  went  about  in 
a  continual  state  of  elation.  Things  were  coming  his 
way.  Nothing  could  stop  them.  They  were  fore 
ordained.  All  he  had  to  do  was  to  stay  awake  so  as 
to  take  advantage  of  the  circumstances  which  chance 
so  nicely  arranged  for  him.  He  had  such  confidence 
in  the  fortuitous  moment  that  he  almost  ceased  to  plan 
ahead,  sure  that  the  crisis  would  bring  its  own  solu 
tion. 

Fifty  thousand  dollars  stood  between  Billy's  credit 
and  Billy's  downfall.  Lafond  had  those  fifty  thousand 
dollars  to  get  rid  of.  The  sum  was  not  great,  but 

217 


218  THE  WESTERNERS 

neither  was  it  small ;  and  to  induce  another  to  spend 
fifty  thousand,  in  a  few  months,  without  any  en 
couraging  return,  might  have  seemed,  to  an  ordinary 
man,  a  project  worthy  of  careful  foresight.  Not  so 
Lafond.  "  A  fool  for  luck,"  he  repeated  and  awaited 
Billy's  reappearance. 

There  was  Molly's  affair  with  Cheyenne  Harry,  for 
instance.  What  could  be  better?  Lafond  had  known 
Mortimer  by  reputation  for  a  great  many  years.  He 
was  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the  transaction  of 
Mulberry  Gulch,  and  how  he  and  a  man  named  Dutch 
Pete  had  swindled  all  Custer  City ;.  he  knew  too  of 
Harry's  various  wild  escapades  in  the  early  Indian 
skirmishes — on  both  sides  some  men  said ;  of  his  won 
derful  fortitude  in  enduring  hardship,  and  his  equally 
wonderful  periods  of  relaxation  when  back  again  in 
the  towns ;  and  he  knew,  best  of  all  from  his  point  of 
view,  Harry's  reputation  as  a  man  among  women. 
Since  this  flirtation  had  lasted  so  long,  to  Lafond's 
mind  it  must  already  have  passed  the  limits.  The 
natural  sequence  would  be  followed  out.  In  time 
Cheyenne  Harry  would  have  a  mistress  the  more. 

In  other  words,  without  the  slightest  trouble  or  en 
couragement  on  his  part,  the  girl  would  be  debauched. 
Then,  through  artfully  colored  vague  hints,  he  would 
let  slip  the  real  facts  of  her  breeding.  He  was  student 
enough  of  character  to  know  that  she  would  gnaw  her 
heart  out  with  a  passionate  remorse,  the  more  intense 
because  of  that  very  innate  purity  of  instinct  which 
now  made  Harry's  task  a  difficult  one.  Lafond  had 
absolutely  nothing  to  do  but  congratulate  himself, 
smoke  his  pipe,  and  spend  long  hours  with  his  friend 
the  entomologist. 


BILLY'S   FIFTY   THOUSAND     219 

After  the  first  flutter  over  the  Easterners'  visit  had 
subsided,  the  camp  settled  back  with  wonderful  celer 
ity  into  its  accustomed  habits.  At  first  it  expected 
Billy's  reappearance  within  a  few  days.  The  return 
was  postponed  to  the  end  of  the  week.  The  end  of  the 
week  gave  Copper  Creek  to  understand  that  it  would 
have  to  wait  a  short  time  longer.  Then  came  another 
postponement.  And  so  on,  until  the  little  community 
had  taken  up  its  usual  prospecting,  work  o'  day,  play 
o'  night  existence,  and  the  return  of  Billy  was  looked 
upon  as  an  inevitable  event,  but  hazily  in  the  future, 
not  imminent  enough  immoderately  to  disturb  the 
current  of  men's  thoughts. 

Then  all  at  once  Billy  was  among  them,  splendid, 
powerful,  energetic,  in  a  hurry,  whirling  the  stagnant 
waters  this  way  and  that,  until  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
awoke  within  them,  and  a  nervous  atmosphere  of 
progress  replaced  the  old  monotony. 

Billy  had  credited  to  him  fifty  thousand  dollars ; 
Billy  sported  a  new  hat  and  new  clothes ;  Billy  had  vast 
enterprises  to  accomplish  before  the  ground  froze  up ; 
Billy  drew  a  salary;  Billy  possessed  an  engraved 
certificate  of  shares,  which  he  displayed ;  Billy  had  a 
new  watch ;  Billy  was  looking  for  men ;  Billy  was  deep 
in  complicated  plans  which  required  above  all  things 
haste,  haste,  haste ;  until  the  narrow  little  canon  rang 
with  the  name  of  Billy,  which  was  esteemed  great  in 
the  land. 

The  new  superintendent  entered  at  once  into  the 
discharge  of  his  duties.  His  first  care  was  to  sink  the 
shafts  mentioned  at  the  first  informal  meeting  in  his 
own  shack.  There  were  ten  claims,  on  which  eleven 
shafts  were  planned.  The  very  evening  of  his  return, 


220  THE   WESTERNERS 

eleven  of  the  handiest  prospectors  in  the  camp  were 
summoned  to  Billy's  cabin,  where  they  found  await 
ing  their  signatures  eleven  contracts  to  sink  on  the 
various  claims  a  specific  number  of  feet  at  a  specified 
price.  Next  morning  they  looked  the  ground  over. 
Next  noon  they  signed.  Next  afternoon  they  hired 
two  helpers  each,  bought  powder  and  fuse,  and  sharp 
ened  drills.  The  day  after,  thirty-five  men  were  busily 
at  work  on  the  new  company's  group  of  claims.  It 
looked  like  business. 

The  same  noon,  Billy's  effects  began  to  come  in  from 
the  East.  He  had  received  a  liberal  advance  on  the 
account  of  his  salary,  and  the  results  were  various. 
Among  them  were  new  saddles,  a  new  buckboard,  a 
new  rifle,  silver-mounted  harness,  and  a  quantity  of 
clothes  of  rather  loud  pattern.  But  most  marvellous 
was  a  clean-limbed,  deep-chested,  slender  running 
horse,  accompanied  by  a  sawed-off  English  groom. 
Billy  spent  a  good  share  of  the  next  week  with  this 
individual,  constructing  a  corral  of  small  timber  in 
which  the  new  horse  might  roll  about.  Each  morn 
ing  the  groom  led  the  animal,  astonishingly  hooded, 
blanketed,  and  leather-banded,  up  and  down  the  hun 
dred  yards  or  so  of  level  road  which  was  all  that  strip 
of  rugged  country  offered  fit  for  such  delicate  hoofs  ' 
and  fine  limbs.  The  beast  always  progressed  teeter 
ing  a  little  sideways,  nearly  dragging  the  groom  from 
his  feet.  The  camp  speculated  that  Billy  had  designs 
on  the  next  great  prairie  "  fair  "  in  the  spring,  but  the 
truth  is  the  Westerner  had  little  idea  of  what  his  designs 
were.  He  had  been  pleased  with  the  horse,  and  had 
bought  it,  without  bestowing  a  thought  on  expediency. 
After  the  novelty  of  possessing  so  thoroughbred  a 


BILLY'S   FIFTY    THOUSAND     221 

creature  had  somewhat  worn  away,  he  confessed  to 
himself  a  slight  bewilderment  as  to  what  to  do  with  it. 

Other  interests  claimed  his  attention  now.  The 
work  on  the  mines  themselves  no  longer  needed  his 
care.  After  the  hundred  feet  of  shaft  had  been  quite 
finished  and  timbered,  he  would  inspect  them  in  his 
official  capacity.  If  the  job  came  up  to  specifications, 
he  would  sign  its  acceptance;  if  it  did  not,  the  con 
tractor  would  have  to  remedy  the  defect.  In  the 
meantime  he  had  on  hand  the  building  of  the  camp 
itself,  for  which  he  had  already  planned  largely. 

Lafond  climbed  the  gulch  and  the  knoll,  after  activ 
ity  had  been  well  under  way  for  about  a  week.  He 
found  Billy  paying  the  freight-bills  on  several  loads 
of  heavy  red-painted  machinery,  while  the  teamsters 
spat  and  swore  just  outside  the  little  shack,  which  he 
now  used  as  an  office.  Billy  was  signing  slips  from  his 
new  check  book.  Until  he  should  have  finished,  La- 
fond  strolled  about  examining  the  grounds. 

Around  the  mouths  of  the  shafts  themselves  the 
debris  had  accumulated  astoundingly,  showing  that 
the  contractors  too  had  been  industrious,  but  Lafond 
paid  little  attention  to  them.  He  was  more  interested 
in  the  clearing,  levelling,  trimming  and  digging  which 
seemed  to  indicate  the  undertaking  of  rather  extensive 
works  above  ground.  Perhaps  a  dozen  men  were  at 
work.  Some  were  engaged  in  "  trueing "  the  four 
great  foundation  beams  of  what  was  evidently  to  be  a 
large  building.  Others  squared  smaller  timbers  near 
at  hand.  The  remainder  were  measuring  and  indicat 
ing  with  a  shovel  the  outlines  of  other  and  less  pre 
tentious  structures.  In  a  moment  Billy  came  out 
ready  to  dissertate  at  length. 


222  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  That  thar  is  the  boardin'  house,"  he  explained.  "  I 
thought  at  first  I'd  only  make  her  big  enough  for  thirty, 
'cause  that's  as  big  a  gang  as  I  starts  with ;  but  then 
I  riggers  it  out,  an'  it  won't  be  long  before  I  takes  on 
more,  so  I  thinks  it  jest  as  well  to  start  where  I  ends. 
So  she's  goin'  to  accommodate  sixty,  two-story,  you 
know.  Then  yere's  the  cookee's  shack.  I  aims  to 
have  th'  kitchen  separate  yere — don't  like  that 
Prairie  Dog  game  nohow."  (The  "  Prairie  Dog  "  was 
the  hotel ;  and  the  "  game  "  was  the  inclusion  of  the 
kitchen  and  the  dining-room  in  the  same  apartment.) 
"  Then  yere's  to  be  the  office.  I  uses  my  old  shack 
for  an  office  now.  I  aims  to  have  three  sleepin'-rooms, 
an'  a  dinin'-room  and  kitchen." 

"  What  for?  "  asked  Lafond,  a  little  puzzled. 

"  For  me." 

"For ?" 

"  I  don't  aim  to  eat  with  the  men.  And  over  yander 
'11  be  th'  stables ;  and  thar  th'  blacksmith's  shop ;  and 
then  the  powder  house  is  on  th'  other  side  of  the  gulch. 
The  chicken  house  is  beyond  th'  blacksmith's  shop." 

"The  what?  "asked  Mike. 

"  The  chicken  house." 

"  Oh,"  said  Mike. 

"  I  ain't  got  the  ground  all  broke  yet,"  pursued 
Billy;  "but  the  plans  is  all  ready,  and  it  ain't  takin' 
long  when  once  we  git  started.  The  stuff  fer  th'  mill 
is  comin'  along  slow,"  he  observed,  pointing  to  the 
red-painted  machinery ;  "  but  I  ain't  aimin'  to  put  her 
up  till  nex'  spring.  Can't  do  much  with  her  till  I  gets 
th'  shafts  sunk." 

"  No,"  agreed  Lafond. 

"  But  I  got  th'  plans  fer  that  too.  Come  on  in  an'  I 
shows  them  to  you." 


BILLY'S   FIFTY   THOUSAND      223 

He  led  the  way  into  the  little  shack,  and  began  to 
rummage  in  a  valise  full  of  papers.  Lafond  found  the 
place  in  a  litter  of  confusion.  Scattered  about  in  the 
wildest  disorder  were  clothes,  weapons,  saddles,  har 
ness,  knick-knacks  and  mining  tools.  Among  the 
latter  the  half-breed  noticed  the  sections  of  a  pump — 
an  expensive  machine  used  only  after  a  shaft  has  pene 
trated  below  the  water  level,  but  which  Billy  had  al 
ready  purchased.  Lying  half  open  among  the  dusty 
quartz  specimens,  empty  ink  bottles,  rusty  pens  and 
old  pipes,  which  cumbered  the  table,  Mike  perceived  a 
large  wooden  box. 

"What's  this?"  he  asked. 

Billy  looked  up  red-faced  from  his  search. 

"  That  ?  "  he  replied.  "  Oh,  that's  a  stamper,"  and 
dived  back  into  the  valise. 

Lafond  drew  the  box  toward  him.  He  found  it  to 
contain  a  vast  quantity  of  rubber  types  of  all  sizes  and 
styles,  figures,  ornaments  and  ornamental  rulings. 
The  box  itself  was  perhaps  some  thirty  inches  square. 
It  was  a  most  elaborate  outfit,  whose  use  is  confined 
almost  entirely  to  large  department  stores  where  there 
is  much  marking  of  prices. 

Billy  now  stood  upright,  having  found  his  roll  of 
plans. 

"  What  did  you  say  this  is  ?  "  asked  Lafond  again. 

"  A  stamper." 

"  What  do  you  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  You  sticks  the  types  in  this  rule  this  way."     Billy 
took  out  the  rule  and  some  of  the  types,  fumbled  un 
skilfully  with  them  for  a  moment,  and  threw  them  im- . 
patiently  down.     "  Anyway,  they  goes  in ;  and  then 
that  keeps  them  in  a  straight  line." 


224  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Yes,"  persisted  Lafond,  "  but  what's  it  for  ?  " 

"  Why,  to  stamp  things  with,  of  course." 

"What  things?" 

Billy  hadn't  thought  of  that. 

But  his  discomfiture  was  only  momentary.  He 
spread  the  plans  out  on  the  rapidly  cleared  table,  and 
discoursed  concerning  them.  Lafond  lent  an  attentive 
ear,  but  said  little.  Billy's  ideas  were  comprehensive. 
They  included  every  adjunct  of  use  or  expediency 
which  the  prospector  remembered  to  have  seen  in  any 
of  the  numerous  successful  camps  which  had  fallen 
under  his  observation.  In  fact,  when  finished,  the  ex 
ternal  Great  Snake  would  be  a  composite  of  the  desir 
able  features  of  many  other  camps,  including  the  great 
*'  Homestake "  itself.  It  was  evident  that  before 
Billy's  mind's  eye,  the  Grea:  Snake  was  already  as 
prosperous  and  as  well  entitled  to  its  graces  of  mining 
luxury  as  any  of  the  older  enterprises.  After  a  little 
appeared  a  man  who  had  some  horses  to  sell,  so  La- 
fond  took  his  leave  and  retraced  his  steps  to  town. 
Near  the  foot  of  the  knoll  he  happened  across  still 
further  evidence  of  Billy's  wandering  activity  in  the 
shape  of  an  ivory-handled  clasp  knife  of  five-inch 
blade.  Mike  remembered  that  Billy  had  shown  it 
about  in  the  Little  Nugget  the  evening  before  as 
another  example  of  the  Easterners'  generosity ;  and  he 
remembered  further  the  Westerner's  delighted  laugh 
over  the  inscription,  "  William  Knapp." 

"  Don't  know  myself  that  way,"  he  had  cried.  "  I 
clean  forgets  that  '  Billy  '  does  stand  for  '  William.'  " 

Lafond's  first  impulse  was  to  reclimb  the  knoll  for 
the  purpose  of  returning  his  find  to  its  owner,  but  on 
second  thoughts  it  hardly  seemed  worth  the  trouble. 


BILLY'S   FIFTY   THOUSAND      225 

He  slipped  it  into  the  side  pocket  of  his  canvas  coat,, 
where,  of  course,  he  speedily  forgot  all  about  it. 

When  he  reached  the  Little  Nugget,  empty  at  this 
time  of  day,  he  sat  down  in  his  chair  and  laughed 
aloud,  peal  on  peal,  wagging  his  head  and  rubbing  his 
eyes.  Frosty,  happening  in,  withdrew  with  celerity, 
firmly  convinced  that  his  master  had  gone  crazy. 

"  A  fool  for  luck,  a  fool  for  luck ! "  cried  Lafond* 
"  Why,  the  idiot  is  playing  right  into  my  hand»!" 


XXV 

JACK   GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT 

THE  morning  when  the  hunting  party  had  so 
unhappily  terminated  on  the  slope  of  Tom  Cus- 
ter,  proved  to  be  the  turning  point  in  Molly's 
relations  with  the  camp. 

The  Kid  forgave  her  in  two  hours,  but  her  troubled 
conscience  would  not  let  her  forgive  herself.  There 
fore  she  was  irritated  with  the  Kid.  Therefore  her  old 
innocent  joyful  trips  into  the  hills  in  his  company  sud 
denly  came  to  an  end.  That  is  good  psychology ;  not 
good  sense. 

With  the  first  realization  of  evil,  slight  though  it  was, 
her  moral  nature  began  the  inevitable  two-sided  argu 
ment.  She  was  no  longer  naive,  but  responsible.  As 
a  consequence  her  old  careless,  thoughtless  manner  of 
life  completely  changed.  In  the  beginning  she  had 
come  full  of  confidence  to  subdue  a  camp.  Speedily 
she  had  discovered  that  it  was  not  worth  the  trouble, 
and  that  she  infinitely  preferred  to  play  out  in  the  open 
with  the  winds  and  sunshine  and  the  diverse  influences 
of  nature.  Now  a  subtle,  quite  unrealized  sense  of  un- 
worthiness,  drove  her  back  to  a  desire  for  human  sym 
pathy,  the  personal  relation.  This  personal  relation 
took  the  outward  form  of  an  entanglement  .with  Chey 
enne  Harry,  complicated  by  her  intellectual  admiration 
of  Graham. 

From  the  first,  Cheyenne  Harry  had  possessed  for 
226 


JACK   GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT     227 

her  a  certain  fascination  which  had  distinguished  him 
from  the  rest  of  the  men  by  whom  she  was  surrounded. 
It  had  dated  from  the  evening  when  he  had  kissed  her. 
At  the  time  he  had  been  shown  his  place  swiftly  and 
decisively  enough,  but  it  was  a  forceful  deed,  such  as 
women  like,  and  its  impression  had  remained.  Be 
sides  this,  Molly's  spirit  was  independent;  she  re 
spected  independence  in  others ;  and  he,  with  the 
exception  of  Graham,  was  now  the  only  man  in  camp 
who  was  to  some  slight  extent  indifferent.  He  showed 
frankly  enough,  with  the  rest,  that  he  liked  her  com 
pany  and  her  good  opinion ;  and  yet  he  showed,  too, 
that  if  her  presence  and  regard  were  not  freely  offered 
as  he  demanded  them,  he  could  wait,  secure  in  their 
ultimate  possession. 

At  first  this  fascination  had  been  weak  and  unim 
portant.  Now,  however,  it  rapidly  took  the  ascend 
ancy  over  everything  else.  The  mere  chance  that  its 
influence  had  been  the  one  first  to  touch  the  girl's 
moral  nature  counted  for  much ;  as  did,  curiously 
enough,  the  fact  that,  in  her  relations  with  Cheyenne 
Harry,  Molly  always  felt  a  little  guilty.  She  resented 
her  imperceptible  retrogression,  and  the  resentment 
took  the  reckless  form  of  a  desire  to  go  a  step  further. 
This  was  mainly  because  she  did  not  understand  her 
self.  She  had  done  nothing  wrong,  as  she  saw  it ;  and 
yet  They  had  put  this  heavy  uneasy  feeling  into  her 
heart.  Very  well!  If  They,  the  mysterious  un- 
thoughtout  They,  were  bound  to  make  her  unhappy 
without  her  fault,  she  would  enjoy  the  sweets  as  well 
as  the  bitter  of  it ! 

Harry  had  such  a  way  of  forcing  her  to  act  against 
her  conscience. 


228  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  But  I  can't  do  that !  "  she  would  object  to  some 
proposition  of  his.  "  I'd  like  to.  I  think  it  would  be 
great  fun.  But  you  know  very  well  I've  promised 
Dave  Kelly  to  go  up  with  him  this  afternoon  to  look 
at  his  claim." 

'  That  doesn't  matter,"  replied  Harry  cavalierly. 

"  But  it  docs  matter,"  she  persisted.  "  I've  prom 
ised." 

"  Oh,  shake  him.  Tell  him  some  yarn.  Do  some 
thing.  It  isn't  every  day  I  get  an  afternoon  off  this 
way."  Though  why  he  did  not,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  say. 

"  I  know,  but  I've  promised." 

"  Oh,  very  well,"  said  Cheyenne  Harry,  with  cold 
finality,  and  began  to  whistle  as  if  the  question  were 
quite  disposed  of.  This  did  not  suit  Molly  at  all. 

"  There  isn't  anything  I  can  do,  is  there  ?  "  she  asked 
after  a  moment. 

"  You  know  best." 

"  Oh,  dear,  I  don't  want  you  to  feel  like  that." 

"Why  shouldn't  I  feel  like  that?"  cried  Harry  in 
sudden  heat.  "  Here  I  look  forward  to  a  whole  after 
noon  with  you,  and  I'm  thrown  down  just  because  of 
a  kid.  I  suppose  you'd  rather  trot  around  with  him 
than  with  me.  All  right.  Go  ahead." 

He  began  to  whistle  again.  He  never  said  what  the 
result  would  be  if  she  did  "  go  ahead,"  and  this  very 
mysterious  indifference  had  its  effect.  Molly,  genuine 
ly  distressed,  knit  her  brows,  not  knowing  what  to 
do." 

"  Now  look  here !  "  commanded  Harry,  after  a  min 
ute,  with  great  decision ;  "  you  go  find  that  Kid,  and 
send  him  up  to  Kelly's  claim  to  say  you  can't  come 


JACK   GRAHAM    SPEAKS   OUT     229 

this  afternoon.  You  can  fix  it  to  suit  yourself  next 
time  you  see  him,"  and  then  he  would  himself  find  the 
Kid  and  despatch  him. 

Molly  always  acquiesced,  but  with  inward  misgiv 
ings.  She  must  now  do  her  best  to  conceal  from  Dave 
Kelly  the  real  state  of  affairs ;  he  must  not  by  any 
chance  see  her  with  Harry ;  he  must  not  hear  from  out 
side  sources  of  her  afternoon's  excursion  with  that 
individual.  An  element  of  the  clandestine  had  crept 
into  it.  The  idea  oppressed  her,  for,  in  spite  of  her 
store  of  spirits  and  her  independent  temper,  she  wa£ 
not  of  a  combative  nature  when  she  felt  herself  at  aH 
in  the  wrong.  The  necessity  saddened  her,  brought 
to  her  that  guilty  feeling  against  which  she  so  sullenly 
rebelled.  She  was  uneasy  during  all  the  afternoon, 
and  yet  she  was  conscious  of  an  added  delicious  thrill 
in  her  relations  with  Harry — a  thrill  that  first  tingled 
pleasantly  through  all  her  veins,  then  struck  her  heart 
numb  with  vague  culpability.  In  due  course,  she 
came  to  transfer  the  emotion  from  the  circumstance? 
to  the  man.  She  experienced  the  same  thrill,  the  same 
numb  culpability,  at  the  sight  of  his  figure  approach 
ing  her  on  the  street. 

This  tendency  was  emphasized,  perhaps,  by  the  fact 
that  their  walks  together — projected  so  suddenly, 
undertaken  with  so  strong  a  feeling  of  blame  on  her 
part — consisted  always  of  continual  skirmishes  as  to 
whether  or  not  Cheyenne  Harry  should  kiss  her.  The 
interest  of  the  argument  was  heightened  by  the  fact 
that  the  girl  wanted  him  to  do  so.  This  he  was  never 
allowed  for  a. moment  to  suspect — in  fact,  by  all  means 
in  her  power  she  gave  him  to  understand  q^ite  the 
contrary — but  he  could  not  help  feeling  subtly  *he. 


230  THE   WESTERNERS 

conscious  encouragement,  and  so  grew  always  the 
more  insistent.  She  held  him  off  because  her  instincts 
had  told  her  the  act  would  cheapen  her.  Molly  always 
obeyed  her  instincts.  They  were  strong,  insistent,  not 
to  be  denied.  They  came  to  her  suddenly  with  a  great 
conviction  of  truth,  which  she  never  dreamed  of  ques 
tioning.  Among  other  things  they  taught  her  that 
without  love  each  kiss  adds  to  the  woman's  regard  for 
the  man,  but  takes  away  from  his  desire  for  her. 

Cheyenne  Harry  used  all  his  arts.  He  tried  force 
only  once,  for  he  found  it  unsatisfactory  and  productive 
of  most  disagreeable  results.  Diplomacy  and  argu 
ment  in  themselves,  as  eclectics,  contained  much  of  the 
joy  of  debate.  The  arguments  in  such  cases  were 
always  deliciously  ingenuous. 

"  Now,  what  harm  is  there  in  my  just  putting  my 
arm  around  you  ?  "  he  urged. 

"  There  just  is,  that's  all." 

"  I'll  have  it  around  you  when  we  dance." 

"  That's  different ;  there's  people  about  then." 

"  It's  just  a  question  of  people,  then  ?  " 

"  I  s'pose  so." 

"  Will  you  let  me  put  my  arm  around  you  to-night 
in  the  Little  Nugget  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not.", 

"  But  there's  people  there,"  triumphantly.  "  Now 
what's  the  harm  ?  It's  different  with  us.  Of  course 
you  ought  not  to  let  anyone  else,  but  we're  different." 

They  were  sitting  near  together,  and  all  this  time 
the  Westerner's  arm  was  moving  inch  by  inch  along 
the  rock  behind  Molly.  As  he  talked  he  clasped  her 
waist,  gingerly,  in  order  not  to  alarm.  She  shivered 
as  she  became  conscious  of  the  touch,  and  for  one 


JACK   GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT     231 

instant  gave  herself  up;  Then  she  sternly  ordered 
Cheyenne  Harry  to  take  his  distance.  The  latter  tried 
to  temporize  by  opening  an  argument.  The  half- 
playful  struggle  always  ended  in  Molly's  gaining  her 
point,  but  the  victory  was  laughing,  and  so  Cheyenne 
Harry  was  encouraged  to  reopen  the  attack  on  new 
grounds. 

As  one  of  the  inevitable  results,  the  emotion  which 
Molly  experienced  in  at  once  denying  herself  and  com 
bating  Harry  was  gradually  translated  into  a  fascinated 
sort  of  passion  for  him.  Then,  too,  since  naturally  the 
interest  of  these  indecisive  encounters  increased  with 
each,  the  two  came  to  see  each  other  oftener  and 
oftener,  until  the  habit  of  companionship  was  well  es 
tablished.  This  habit  is  very  real.  The  approach  of 
the  accustomed  hour  for  meeting  causes  the  heart  to 
beat  faster,  the  breath  to  come  quicker,  the  imagina 
tion  to  kindle ;  while  the  foregoing  of  a  single  appoint 
ment  is  a  dull  loss  difficult  to  bear  with  patience.  It 
counterfeits  well  many  of  the  symptoms  of  love,  and 
for  a  short  time  is  nearly  as  burning  a  passion. 

Sometimes  the  attack  would  be  more  direct.  Chey 
enne  Harry's  stock  of  sophistry  would  give  out,  as  well 
as  his  stock  of  patience. 

"  Oh,  come  on,  Molly,"  he  would  cry,  "  just  one ! 
I've  been  real  good,  now  haven't  I  ?  Oh,  come  on !  " 

"  You've  been  nothing  but  a  great  big  brute,  Mr. 
Cheyenne  Harry !  "  she  cried  in  a  tone  that  implied 
he  had  not. 

Harry  advanced  a  little,  holding  out  his  hands,  much 
as  one  would  approach  a  timid  setter  dog.  She  put 
one  ringer  on  her  lips,  and  watched  him,  bright-eyed. 
When  he  was  near  enough,  she  boxed  his  ears,  and 


232  THE   WESTERNERS 

twisted  her  slender  young  body  out  of  reach,  laughing 
mockingly,  and  wrinkling  her  nose  at  him. 

But  then  when  they  had  returned  to  camp,  and  once 
more  she  found  herself  alone,  the  delicious  questions 
always  came  up  ;  how  far  did  he  intend  to  go  ?  Did  he 
see  through  such  and  such  a  stratagem  ?  Was  he 
really  vexed  at  such  and  such  a  speech,  or  was  he 
merely  feigning?  In  what  manner  would  he  dare  ac 
cost  her  when  next  they  met  ?  And  so  another  meet 
ing  became  necessary  soon — at  once.  They  saw  more 
and  more  of  each  other,  to  the  neglect  of  many  real 
duties. 

For  a  time  the  influence  of  Jack  Graham  did  some 
thing  to  stem  the  drift  of  this  affair,  but  that  lasted 
only  until  he  himself  fell  in  love  with  her. 

With  him  her  first  emotion  had  been  of  eager  intel 
lectual  awakening;  her  second,  that  of  piqued  curios 
ity;  her  third,  of  reactionary  dulness.  As  time  went 
on  she  came  to  pass  and  repass  through  those  three 
phases  with  ever  increased  rapidity,  until  at  the  last 
their  constant  reiteration  might  almost  have  relegated 
them  to  the  category  of  whims.  She  liked  to  be  with 
him,  because  he  made  her  aware  of  new  possibilities 
in  herself.  She  could  not  understand  him,  because  his 
attitude  toward  her  was  never  that  of  the  lover.  She 
experienced  moments  of  revolt,  when  she  cried  out 
passionately  but  ineffectually  against  an  influence 
which  would  compel  her  to  elevations  rarer  than  the 
atmosphere  of  her  everyday,  easy-going  pleasure- 
taking  life.  Ineffectually,  I  say,  for  something  always 
forced  her  back. 

Not  that  Graham  ever  preached.  Preaching  would 
have  presented  something  tangible  against  which  to 


JACK   GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT     233 

revolt,  something  orthodox  to  be  cried  down.  In  fact, 
reformation  of  Molly  Lafond's  manners  of  mind  or 
body  was  the  farthest  from  Graham's  thought.  He 
merely  represented  to  her  a  state  of  being  to  which  she 
must  rise.  The  rise  was  slight,  but  it  was  real.  It 
meant  the  difference  between  thinking  in  the  abstract 
or  in  the  concrete.  It  meant  that  she  was  compelled 
to  feel  that  to  men  like  him,  or  to  women  like  her,  this 
animal  existence,  with  its  finer  pleasures  of  riding, 
climbing,  flirting  and  sitting  on  bars,  while  well 
enough  in  its  way,  was  after  all  but  a  small  and  inci 
dental  part  of  life.  If  the  girl  had  been  requested  to 
formulate  it,  she  would  not  have  been  able  to  do  so. 
She  apprehended  it  more  in  its  result;  which  was  to 
make  her  just  a  little  ashamed  of  her  everyday  man 
ner  of  existence,  without,  however,  furnishing  her  with 
a  strong  enough  motive  to  rise  permanently  above  it. 
This,  in  turn,  translated  itself  into  a  certain  impotent 
mental  discomfort. 

As  long  as  Jack  Graham  preserved  the  personally 
indifferent  standpoint,  the  mere  fact  that  he  caused 
her  momentary  disquiet  did  not  antagonize  Molly  La- 
fond  against  him.  Rather  it  added  a  certain  piquancy 
to  their  interviews.  He  threw  out  his  observations  on 
men  and  manners  lazily,  with  the  true  philosopher's 
delight  in  rolling  a  good  thing. under  his  tongue. 
None  of  them  possessed  an  easily  fitted  personal  appli 
cation.  And  his  utter  indifference  as  to  whether  she 
talked  or  listened,  went  or  tarried,  always  secretly 
pleased  her.  She  liked  his  way  of  looking  at  her 
through  half-closed  lids,  in  the  manner  of  one  ex 
amining  a  strange  variety  of  tree  or  fern ;  the  utter 
lack  of  enthusiasm  in  the  fashion  of  his  greetings  when 


234  THE   WESTERNERS 

she  came,  or  his  farewell  when  she  departed ;  his  quite 
impersonal  manner  of  pointing  truths  which  might 
only  too  easily  have  been  given  a  personal  application. 
And  this  was  the  very  reason  of  it,  although  again  she 
might  not  have  been  able  to  formulate  the  idea ;  that 
although  his  methods  of  thought,  his  mental  stand 
points,  his  ways  of  life  constantly  accused  hers  of 
inertia,  carelessness  and  moral  turpiture,  nevertheless 
his  personally  indifferent  attitude  toward  her  relieved 
them  of  too  direct  an  application.  She  enjoyed  the 
advantages  of  a  mental  cold  shower,  with  the  added 
satisfaction  that  no  one  saw  her  bedraggled  locks. 

But  when  in  time  the  young  man  went  the  way  of 
the  rest  of  the  camp  and  began  to  show  a  more  inti 
mate  interest  in  her,  the  conditions  were  quite  altered. 
We  may  rejoice  in  anathema  against  the  sins  of  hu 
manity,  in  which  we  may  acknowledge  a  share;  we 
always  resent  being  personally  blamed. 

Graham  indeed  went  the  way  of  the  rest  of  the  camp. 
His  progress  from  indifference  to  love  he  could  not 
have  traced  himself,  although  he  might  with  tolerable 
accuracy  have  indicated  the  landmarks — a  look,  a 
gesture,  a  flash  of  spirit,  revealing  by  a  little  more  the 
woman  whom  he  finally  came  to  idealize.  That  her's 
was  a  rich  nature  he  had  early  discovered.  That  it  was 
not  inherently  a  frivolous  or  vicious  nature,  he  saw 
only  gradually,  and  after  many  days.  Then  his  self- 
disguise  of  philosophic  indifference  fell.  He  realized 
fully  that  he  loved  her,  not  for  what  she  did  or  said,  but 
for  herself;  and  with  the  knowledge  came  an  acuter 
consciousness  that,  whatever  her  possibilities,  her 
tendency  was  now  to  pervert  rather  than  develop 
them.  For  the  first  time  he  opened  his  eyes  and  ex 
amined  her  environment  as  well  as  herself. 


JACK   GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT     235 

She  spent  half  of  her  day  alone  with  Cheyenne 
Harry.  The  other  half  she  was  restless.  The  even 
ing  she  passed  in  the  Little  Nugget  saloon,  where  the 
men,  convinced  that  she  was  now  the  mistress  of  Chey 
enne  Harry,  took  even  less  pains  than  formerly  to 
restrain  the  accustomed  freedom  of  their  words  and 
actions.  Graham  viewed  her  indifference  to  all  this, 
and  her  growing  absorption  by  Cheyenne  Harry,  with 
some  alarm.  He  conceived  that  the  state  of  affairs 
came  about  more  because  of  a  dormant  moral  nature 
than  because  of  moral  perversity ;  and  as  to  this  he  was 
partly  right.  But  he  could  not  fail  to  perceive  the 
inevitable  trend  of  it  all,  no  matter  what  the  permitting 
motive.  He  would  have  been  less — or  more — than 
human,  if  he  had  let  it  pass  without  a  protest. 

At  first  the  protest  took  the  form  of  action.  He 
tried  to  persuade  the  girl  to  spend  the  evening  in  other 
ways.  While  the  novelty  lasted,  this  was  all  very  well. 
He  epitomized  and  peptonized  his  knowledge  on  all 
subjects  to  suit  her  intellectual  digestion.  They  called 
it  their  "  lesson  time,"  and  he  made  the  mistake  of 
taking  it  too  seriously.  He  was  very  much  in  earnest 
himself,  so  he  thought  she  should  be  so.  They  talked 
of  nothing  but  the  matter  in  hand.  After  a  little,  there 
came  an  evening  when  she  was  a  trifle  tired.  The  mat 
ter  in  hand  did  not  interest  her  as  much  as  it  should. 
She  leaned  the  back  of  her  head  against  her  two  clasped 
hands,  and  sighed. 

"  I'm  stupid  to-night,"  she  confessed.  "  Let's  talk. 
Tell  me  a  story." 

Graham  was  much  in  love,  and  so  incapable  of  re 
adjustments.  He  had  thought  out  carefully  several 
new  and  interesting  things  to  say. 

"  I  thought  you  said  you  were  really  in  earnest  about 


236  THE   WESTERNERS 

this,"  he  reproached  her.  "  If  you  are  going  to  im 
prove  yourself,  you  must  work ;  and  work  cannot  de 
pend  on  one's  mood." 

All  of  which  was  very  true,  but  Jack  Graham  could 
not  see  that  there  inheres  in  truth  no  imperative  de 
mand  for  its  expression. 

But  when  another  night  came,  her  enthusiasm  was 
less  marked,  for  she  saw  no  escape.  After  a  time  she 
skipped  an  evening.  Then  at  last  she  gave  it  up  alto 
gether. 

"  I'm  afraid  I'm  not  intellectual,"  she  confessed, 
smiling  doubtfully.  "  I  told  you  I'd  be  a  disappoint 
ment.  It  is  all  interesting  and  very  improving,  but — 
well,  I  don't  know — it  seems  to  make  us  both  cross. 
I  guess  we'd  better  quit." 

Jack  Graham  seemed  to  indicate  by  his  manner  that 
he  was  disappointed.  A  good  deal  of  his  disapproval 
was  because  he  saw  that  her  renunciation  of  these 
"  improving  "  evenings  meant  not  only  the  loss  of  the 
improvement,  but  her  exposure  to  worse  influences ; 
but  of  course  Molly  Lafond  did  not  know  that.  She 
took  the  young  man's  condemnation  entirely  to  her 
self,  and  consequently,  wrhen  in  his  presence,  felt  just 
a  little  inferior.  She  concealed  the  feeling  with  an 
extra  assumption  of  flippancy. 

Because  of  these  things,  as  time  went  on,  she  came 
to  see  more  and  more  of  Cheyenne  Harry  and  less 
and  less  of  Jack  Graham.  The  latter 's  mere  presence 
made  her  ashamed  of  her  lack  of  earnest  purpose.  He, 
for  his  part,  viewed  with  growing  uneasiness  the  'aug 
menting  influence  of  the  dashing  Westerner ;  for  he 
knew  the  man  thoroughly,  and  believed  that  his  atten 
tions  meant  no  good.  In  that,  at  least  for  the  present, 


JACK   GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT     237 

he  did  him  a  wrong.  Cheyenne  Harry  merely  amused 
himself  with  a  new  experience — that  of  entering  into 
relations  of  intimacy  with  a  woman  intrinsically  pure. 
The  other  sort  was  not  far  to  seek,  should  his  fancy 
turn  that  way.  But  to  Graham  these  marked  atten 
tions  could  mean  but  one  thing. 

His  resolve  to  speak  openly  was  not  carried  into 
effect  for  a  number  of  days.  Finally,  quite  unexpect 
edly,  he  found  his  chance. 

Toward  evening,  as  he  was  returning  from  a  day's 
exploitation  on  his  three  claims  in  Teepee,  he  came 
across  her  sitting  on  a  fallen  log  near  the  lower  ford. 
The  shadows  of  the  hills  were  lying  across  the  land 
scape,  even  out  on  the  brown  prairie.  A  bird  or  so 
sang  in  the  thicket.  A  light  wind  breathed  up  the 
gulch.  Altogether  it  was  so  peaceful ;  and  the  girl 
sitting  there  idly,  her  hands  clasped  over  her  knees, 
gazing  abstractedly  into  the  waters  of  the  brook,  was 
so  pensive  and  contemplative  and  sad,  that  Graham 
had  to  spur  his  resolution  hard  to  induce  it  to  take  the 
leap.  But  he  succeeded  in  making  himself  angry  by 
thinking  of  Cheyenne  Harry. 

She  saw  him  coming  and  shrank  vaguely.  She  felt 
herself  in  some  subtle  way,  which  she  could  not  define, 
quite  in  the  wrong.  What  wrong  she  could  not  have 
told.  When,  however,  she  saw  that  plainly  his  inten 
tion  was  to  speak  to  her,  she  smiled  at  him  brilliantly 
with  no  trace  of  embarrassment. 

They  exchanged  the  commonplaces  of  such  a  meet 
ing. 

"  Why  are  you  so  solemn  ?  "  she  broke  in  finally. 
'*  You  look  as  if  you'd  lost  your  last  friend." 

He  looked  at  her.     "  That  is  the  way  I  feel." 


238  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  Oh,"  said  she. 

They  fell  silent.  She  did  not  like  at  all  the  gloomy 
fashion  of  his  scrutiny.  It  made  her  nervous.  She 
felt  creeping  on  her  heart  that  mysterious  heaviness, 
the  weight  of  something  unknowable,  which  she  had 
lately  been  at  such  pains  to  forget.  She  did  not  like 
it.  With  an  effort,  she  shook  it  off  and  laughed. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  she  cried  with  forced  gayety. 
"  Didn't  he  sleep  well?  Don't  he  like  my  looks,  or 
the  freckle  on  my  nose,  or  the  way  I  wear  my  cap  ?  " — 
she  tossed  the  latter  rakishly  on  her  curls,  and  tilted 
her  head  sideways. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  she  asked  with  a  sudden 
return  to  gravity. 

"  You  are  the  matter,"  he  answered  briefly. 

"  Oh  dear !  "  she  cried  with  petulance  ;  "  has  it  come 
to  that?" 

"  No,  it  has  not  come  to  that,  not  what  you  mean. 
But  it  has  come  to  this :  that  your  conduct  has  made 
every  true  friend  of  yours  feel  just  as  I  do." 

She  stared  at  him  a  moment,  gasping. 

"  Heavens !  you  frighten  me !  What  have  I  done  ? 
Come  over  here  on  this  log  and  tell  me  about  it." 

Graham's  vehement  little  speech  had  vented  the 
more  explosive  portion  of  his  emotion.  Whatever  he 
should  say  now  would'  be  inspired  rather  by  convic 
tion  than  impulse ;  and  the  lover's  natural  unwilling 
ness  deliberately  to  antagonize  his  mistress  made  it 
exceedingly  difficult  to  continue.  He  hesitated. 

"  You  must  tell  me  now,"  she  commanded ;  "  I  insist. 
Now,  what  have  I  done  ?  " 

"  It  isn't  so  much  what  you  have  done,"  began 
Graham  lamely,  "  as  what  you  might  do.  You  see 


JACK   GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT     239 

you  are  very  young,  and  you  don't  know  the  world; 
and  so  you  might  walk  right  into  something  very 
wrong  without  realizing  in  the  least  what  you  are 
doing,  and  without  meaning  to  do  wrong  at  all. 
Everybody  owes  it  to  himself  to  make  the  best  out  of 
himself,  and  you  must  know  that  you  have  great  possi 
bilities.  But  it  isn't  that  so  much.  I  wish  I  knew  how 
to  tell  you  exactly.  You  ought  to  have  a  mother. 
But  if  you'd  only  let  us  advise  you,  because  we  know 
more  about  it  than  you " 

The  girl  had  watched  him  with  gleaming  eyes. 
"  That  doesn't  mean  anything,"  she  interrupted. 
"  What  is  it,  now  ?  Out  with  it !  " 

"  It's  Cheyenne  Harry,"  blurted  Graham  desper 
ately  ;  "  you  oughtn't  to  go  around  with  him  so  much." 

"  Now  we  have  it,"  said  the  girl  with  dangerous 
calm  ;  "I'm  not  to  go  around  with  Harry.  Will  you 
tell  me  why?  " 

"  Well,"  replied  Graham,  floundering  this  side  of  the 
main  fact ;  "  it  isn't  a  healthy  thing  for  anybody  to  see 
any  one  person  to  the  exclusion  of  others." 

"  Yourself,  for  instance,"  stabbed  the  girl  wickedly. 
"  Go  on." 

Graham  flushed.  "  No,  it  isn't  that,"  he  asserted 
earnestly.  "  It  isn't  for  the  benefit  of  the  others  that 
I  speak,  but  because  of  the  effect  on  yourself.  It  isn't 
healthy.  You  are  wasting  time  that  might  be  very 
much  better  employed ;  you  get  into  an  abnormal  atti 
tude  toward  other  people ;  you  are  laying  stress  on  a 
means  to  which  there  is  no  end,  and  that  is  abnormal. 
I  don't  know  that  you  understand  what  I  mean ;  it's 
philosophy,"  he  concluded,  smiling  in  an  attempt  to 
end  lightly. 


240  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  No,  I  do  not  understand  in  the  least.  All  I  under 
stand  is  that  you  object  to  my  seeing  a  certain  man, 
without  giving  any  particular  reason  for  your  objec 
tions." 

"  It  isn't  especially  elevating  for  you  to  sit  every 
evening  in  a  bar  room  crowded  with  swearing  and 
drinking  men  who  are  not  at  all  of  your  class,"  sug 
gested  Graham.  "  The  language  they  use  ought  to 
teach  you  that." 

"  They  are  my  people,"  cried  Molly  with  a  sudden 
flash  of  indignation,  "  and  they  are  honest  and  brave 
and  true-hearted.  They  do  not  speak  as  grammati 
cally  as  you  or  I ;  but  you  have  been  to  college,  and  I 
have  been  blessed  with  a  chance  to  read.  And  what 
ever  language  they  speak,  they  do  not  use  it  to  talk 
of  other  people  behind  their  backs  !  "  She  reflected  a 
moment.  "  But  that  isn't  the  question,"  she  went  on, 
with  a  touch  of  her  native  shrewdness.  "  I  understood 
you  to  make  a  request  of  me." 

Graham  had  not  so  understood  himself,  but  he  had  a 
request  ready,  nevertheless.  "  That  you  be  a  little 
more  careful  in  the  way  you  go  about  with  Mortimer, 
then,"  he  begged. 

"  And  why  ?  "  she  asked  again. 

"  Because — because  he  means  to  do  you  harm !  " 
cried  Jack  Graham,  driven  to  the  point  at  last. 

She  rose  from  the  log.  "  Ah,  that  is  what  1  wanted 
to  hear !  "  she  returned  in  level  tones — "  the  accusation. 
You  will  tell  him  this  to  his  face?  " 

Graham  paused.  His  anxiety  was  a  tangle  of  sus 
picions  born  of  his  knowledge  of  men,  his  intuitions, 
and  his  fears.  Looking  at  it  dispassionately  from  the 
outside,  what  right  had  he  to  interfere  ?  Graham  was 


JACK  GRAHAM   SPEAKS   OUT     241 

much  in  love,  brave  enough  to  carry  through  the  in 
evitable  row,  and  quite  willing  as  far  as  himself  was 
concerned,  to  do  so ;  but  he  could  not  fail  to  see  that, 
however  the  affair  came  out,  it  would  irretrievably 
injure  the  girl's  reputation.  No  one  would  believe 
that  he  would  go  to  such  lengths  on  suspicion  of 
merely  future  harm.  To  the  camp  it  would  mean  his 
proved  knowledge  of  present  facts.  So  he  hesitated. 

"  You  will  not,  I  see,"  concluded  the  girl,  moving 
away ;  "  rest  easy,  I  shall  say  nothing  to  Harry  about 
it.  I  don't  know  what  he  would  do  if  he  heard  of  it." 

She  began  to  walk  toward  the  ford,  every  motion 
expressing  contempt.  She  believed  she  had  proved 
Graham  a  coward,  and  this  had  rehabilitated  her  self- 
respect.  She  was  no  longer  ashamed  before  him.  At 
the  water's  brink  she  turned  back. 

"  And  remember  this,  Mr.  Jack  Graham  !  "  she  cried, 
her  repressed  anger  suddenly  blazing  out ;  "  I  may  be 
young,  and  I  may  not  know  much  of  the  world,  but  I 
know  enough  to  take  care  of  myself  without  any  of 
your  help/' 

She  picked  her  way  across  the  stepping-stones  and 
disappeared,  without  once  looking  back. 


XXVI 

AND   HAS  TO   GO  TO   WORK 

FROM  that  moment  Graham  ceased  to  be  an 
integral  factor  in  the  girl's  history.  His  only 
hold  on  her  imagination  had  been  his  moral 
superiority,  and  it  was  now  gone.  She  treated  him 
thenceforth  as  an  admirer  whose  sincerity  deserves 
the  consideration  which  his  insistence  makes  difficult 
to  give  ungrudgingly.  He  was  not  discouraged  or 
frowned  on.  He  was  forgiven  promptly  as  a  child  is 
forgiven.  But  he  was  kept  always  scrupulously  to  his 
place.  The  girl  now  held  the  whip  hand.  After  a  lit 
tle,  when  he  became  too  insistent,  she  cut  him  cruelly 
in  punishment  and  only  deigned  to  smile  on  him  again 
when,  to  sue  forgiveness,  he  had  quite  abandoned  his 
attitude  of  fault-finding. 

As  for  him,  the  girl's  actions  soon  became  hateful. 
He  saw  them  all  wrong,  yet  he  felt  his  powerlessness 
to  alter  them  in  even  the  slightest  degree.  This 
aroused  so  powerful  but  so  impotent  a  rage  that  shortly 
he  came  to  react  irritably  against  everything  Molly 
did  whether  right  or  wrong.  He  instinctively  ar~ 
raigned  himself  in  the  opposition.  He  did  not  want  to 
do  this,  and  his  common  sense  accused  him  strongly 
of  unreasonableness,  but  he  could  not  help  it.  It,  was 
greater  than  he.  No  matter  what  the  plan,  discussion 
or  even  conversation,  his  morbidly  sensitive  conscious 
ness  of  the  girl's  error  impelled  him  to  object. 

342 


AND   HAS   TO   GO   TO   WORK     243 

"  Let's  go  over  to  Rockerville  to-day,"  she  would 
suggest. 

"  The  horses  aren't  here." 

"  But  it's  no  great  matter  to  get  them.  Let's  send 
the  Kid." 

"  I  don't  know  where  the  Kid  is." 

"  Well,  Frosty  then." 

"  Frosty's  busy." 

"  It  wouldn't  hurt  you  any  to  get  them  yourself." 

"  One  of  the  saddles  is  broken." 

"  You  know  very  well  it's  only  a  cinch  ring.  It  can 
be  fixed  in  five  minutes." 

"  We'll Don't  you  think  it  is  going  to  be  pretty 

hot?" 

"  No,  I  don't ;  and  if  I  can  stand  it,  I  should  think 
you  could." 

"  And " 

"  Heavens  and  earth !  It's  harder  than  climbing 
trees  to  get  you  to  do  anything.  Never  mind  !  /  don't 
want  to  go  to  Rockerville  or  anywhere  else  if  it's  all 
that  trouble !  " 

And  then  Graham  would  wonder  at  his  stubborn  fit. 
Why  shouldn't  they  have  gone  to  Rockerville  ?  In  five 
minutes  he  could  have  got  the  horses,  fixed  the  saddle. 
And  the  day  was  beautiful.  What  real  reason  did  he 
have?  He  did  not  know;  only  he  felt  an  irresistible 
impulse  to  .object.  This  was  because  he  loved  her, 
disapproved  of  her,  and  was  quite  powerless  over 
her. 

When  he  was  not  merely  contrary,  he  was  urging 
strong  advice  on  an  unwilling  recipient.  It  was  offered 
in  either  the  pleading  or  the  blustering  spirit.  If  in 
the  former,  Molly  merely  teased  him.  If  in  the 


244  THE  WESTERNERS 

latter,  she  became  very  angry.  It  was  always  on  the 
same  subject.  The  girl  was  wearied  with  it. 

And  yet,  if  it  were  any  consolation,  Jack  Graham 
could  have  comforted  himself  with  the  truth  that,  next 
to  Cheyenne  Harry,  he  claimed  a  greater  share  of  her 
thoughts  than  any  other  in  camp.  His  offices  were 
ungrateful,  but  they  had  a  certain  sincerity  which  pre 
vented  their  being  ignored ;  and,  not  forgotten,  their 
acid-like  drop  of  truth  ate  into  that  conscience  of  which 
she  did  not  yet  realize  the  existence.  Her  horizon  was 
becoming  banked  with  thunderclouds,  looming  huge 
and  black  and  heavy  with  portent.  Graham,  as  an 
ideal,  had  stood  for  a  higher  existence.  Now,  however 
shrunken  his  image  appeared,  the  ideal  itself  remained 
as  something  tangible  in  her  collection  of  moral  stand 
ards.  She  acknowledged  to  herself  fiercely  that  she 
had  fallen  from  it.  She  told  herself  that  she  did  not 
care. 

She  was  dreadfully  alone.  Lafond  was  always  kind 
to  her,  but  she  never  felt  that  she  knew  him.  Graham, 
in  spite  of  his  frequent  presence,  was  in  reality  quite 
estranged.  The  Kid  and  Peter  and  Kelly  and  Houston 
and  even  old  Bill  Martin  had  fallen  away  from  her 
somehow.  She  did  not  know  that  the  reason  the  older 
men  were  less  intimate  was  because  she  was  supposed 
to  be  Cheyenne  Harry's  mistress,  and  the  rule  of  such 
cases  is  "  hands  off !  "  And  then  there  was  always  the 
stifling  formless  weight  at  her  heart  which  she  did  not 
understand.  She  was  very  unhappy.  That  with  her 
meant  that  she  was  reckless.  She  threw  herself  pas 
sionately  into  her  affair  with  Cheyenne  Harry  as  the 
cne  tangible  human  relation  left  to  her  in  its  entirety. 

The  days  followed  each  other  in  a  succession  ol 


AND   HAS   TO   GO   TO   WORK     245 

passionate  exaltations  and  dumb  despairs.  Harry 
kissed  her  whenever  he  pleased  now.  She  had  long 
since  got  beyond  mere  coquetry.  It  meant  much  to 
her  hereditary  instincts  so  to  yield,  but  she  gave  her 
self  up  to  it  with  the  abandon  of  a  lost  soul  delivering 
itself  to  degrading  wickedness.  For  in  spite  of  her  life 
and  companions  she  was  intrinsically  pure,  so  pure  that 
even  Cheyenne  Harry,  with  all  his  extraordinary  in 
fluence,  did  not  somehow  care  to  go  too  far.  He  kissed 
her,  and  at  the  first,  when  the  long  resistance  had  en 
hanced  her  value,  he  was  persuaded  that  he  loved  her 
— that  these  interviews  meant  to  him  what  lovers' 
meetings  mean — and  so  he  responded  to  her  passion 
ate  devotion  with  what  seemed  to  be  corresponding 
ecstasy. 

But  then  after  a  little  insensibly  the  flood  ebbed. 
In  the  old  days  she  had  amused  him  with  her  bright 
laughter,  her  gay  speech,  her  mocking  superiorities, 
her  little  coquetries  of  manner  or  mannerism.  Now 
she  had  thrown  these  weapons  away.  Her  surrender 
was  complete.  Her  life  had  simplified  to  one  phase, 
that  of  dewy-eyed  pleading  adoration.  At  first  it 
pleased  his  masculine  vanity.  After  a  time  it  cloyed 
ever  so  little ;  Cheyenne  Harry  missed  the  "  comic  re 
lief  "  in  all  these  heroics.  He  would  have  liked  oc 
casionally  to  have  climbed  hills ;  or  taken  long  walks ; 
or  even  run  a  short  race,  say  to  the  bend  of  the  road ; 
or  to  have  had  played  on  him  a  small  practical  joke; 
or  experienced  some  other  such  indication  that  man 
is  a  laughing  animal.  The  girl  seemed  capable  of  en 
joying  nothing  but  slow  and  aimless  saunterings.  In 
the  beginning  he  had  experienced  the  nameless  ecstasy 
and  thrill  inherent  in  the  personal  contact  of  the  kiss. 


246  THE   WESTERNERS 

Now  he  missed  something  of  those  qualities.  It 
seemed  no  longer  strange  to  him  to  feel  her  body  near 
his,  to  watch  her  wide  eyes  half-closed,  to  press  his 
lips  against  hers,  half-parted.  It  was  still  delightful 
above  everything  in  the  world,  but  there  had  been  one 
thing  better — the  kiss  of  yesterday.  In  a  word  Chey 
enne  Harry's  experience  was  beginning  dimly  to  trace 
the  word  "  satiety." 

Not  that  either  he  or  the  girl  realized  it.  To  their 
thinking  minds  everything  was  as  usual.  But  their 
subconsciousness  appreciated  it,  and  interpreted  it  ac 
cording  to  its  value.  Cheyenne  Harry,  as  has  been 
pointed  out,  turned  instinctively  toward  a  desire  for 
lighter  phases  in  their  relationship.  Molly  Lafond 
clung  the  more  blindly  to  her  passion.  Her  only  ex 
cuse  to  herself  for  her  abandonment  of  the  better  ideal 
was  the  reality  of  that  passion.  When  it  should  go,  her 
self-respect  would  vanish  with  it. 

Harry  found  a  certain  amusement,  too,  in  seeing 
Graham  jumping  around  the  outer  circle  like  corn  in 
a  popper.  Graham  was  usually  possessed  of  so  much 
innate  dignity.  Now  his  self-abandonment  to  the  es 
sentially  undignified  attitude  of  begging  for  the  petty 
favor  of  a  quarrelless  ten  minutes  or  even  a  little  good- 
humored  smile  tickled  the  other's  sense  of  the  incon 
gruous  and  pleased  his  vanity.  To  an  extent  he  was 
held  to  the  girl  now  by  his  pride.  A  man  likes  to  have 
a  rival  when  perfectly  secure  himself,  especially  when 
the  girl  tells  him  what  the  rival  says  to  her.  This  may 
not  be  honorable  in  her,  but  it  is  very  human.  So 
amusing  was  it  that  Harry  did  not  get  angry  over  the 
reports  of  Graham's  repeated  warnings  against  him. 

The  latter  seemed  unable  to  keep  off  the  subject.    He 


AND   HAS   TO   GO   TO   WORK     247 

knew  that  his  suspicions  only  strengthened  the  girl's 
obstinate  opposition,  but  he  could  not  help  their  ex 
pression  for  all  that.  Sometimes  he  pleaded,  some 
times  he  threatened,  sometimes  he  assumed  the  proph 
et's  mantle  and  foretold  all  sorts  of  dire  disasters.  The 
girl  laughed,  or  became  angry.  It  would  have  puzzled 
Graham  to  tell  which  of  these  moods  he  preferred :  per 
haps  it  would  have  depended  on  which  of  them  he  was 
experiencing  at  the  moment. 

His  saving  grace  was  a  sturdy  sense  of  his  duty  to 
himself.  He  felt  that  sense  to  be  sadly  shaken  in  many 
ways ;  but  he  clung  to  his  work  tenaciously,  perhaps  a 
little  feverishly. 

"  Nuthin'  like  a  woman  to  make  a  man  work,"  ob 
served  Bill  Martin  sagely,  "  whether  she's  fur  him,  or 
agin'  him." 

"  How  about  Billy?"  inquired  Old  Mizzou. 

Bill  Martin  laughed.  "  Billy?  Oh,  he's  playin',"  he 
replied. 


XXVII 

PROSPERITY 

BILLY  did  not  think  so,  however.  He  posed  to 
himself  as  the  most  industrious  man  in  the 
territory.  He  had  so  much  to  see  to  that  year, 
for  throughout  the  mild  winter  that  succeeded  he  had 
pushed  forward  with  the  greatest  rapidity  all  work  on 
the  Great  Snake  and  its  sister  claims.  The  log  struct 
ures,  the  plans  of  which  he  had  displayed  to  Lafond, 
were  completed,  so  far  as  the  mere  erection  of  them 
went,  within  a  fortnight.  Billy  gave  a  great  deal  of 
personal  direction  to  this  work;  but  after  all  it  was 
simple  enough,  so  he  managed  to  chink  in  a  moment 
here  and  there  for  the  completion  of  certain  bargains 
which  came  to  him.  For  instance,  a  man  in  Spring 
Creek  Valley  offered  eight  draught  horses  at  a  mar 
vellously  low  figure.  That  made  two  teams.  Billy  did 
not  need  two  teams  just  then ;  but  of  course  later, 
when  the  mill  was  up,  he  would  need  a  great  many 
more  than  two  teams  for  the  purpose  of  carting  ore ; 
and  it  seemed  criminal  to  let  such  a  bargain  go.  Then 
he  found  he  required  a  man  to  take  care  of  them.  Some 
days  later  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be 
good  economy  to  buy  the  ore  wagons  now  instead  of 
waiting  until  later,  for  the  following  ingenious  reason : 
the  horses  must  be  fed ;  hay  costs  fifteen  dollars  a  ton 
in  the  hills  and  five  on  the  prairie ;  with  wagons  the 
horses  could  be  utilized  to  haul  their  own  forage  from 
the  plains  at  a  net  saving  of  ten  dollars  a  ton  on  all 

248 


PROSPERITY  249 

consumed.  So  Billy  placed  an  order  for  two  heavy 
wagons,  and  dismissed  the  matter  from  his  mind  until 
they  were  delivered.  During  the  interim  he  sat  on  top 
of  a  ladder  and  dabbed  contentedly  at  a  scroll-work  cor 
nice  with  a  small  red  paint  brush. 

From  that  elevation  he  bought  a  whim,  also  a  bar 
gain.  The  man  was  anxious  to  sell,  and  it  was  a  very 
good  whim.  To  be  sure  one  might  have  argued  that 
inasmuch  as  whims  are  machines  for  hauling  ore  from 
depths  which  Billy's  operations  would  not  attain  for 
a  year  at  least,  the  purchase  was  a  little  premature; 
but  then  it  is  equally  certain  that  all  mines  own  whims, 
and  another  opportunity  for  getting  one  so  cheap 
might  never  again  present  itself. 

When  the  wagons  came,  he  and  the  man  drove  fifty 
miles  to  Rapid,  where  they  hobnobbed  with  Tom 
Sweeny  and  looked  over  his  establishment.  Billy 
bought  his  household  goods.  He  also  took  a  fancy 
to  some  large  brass-bound  collar  hoods  for  the  horses 
which  he  had  marked  with  the  company's  initials  "  G. 
S.  M.  &  M.  Co.,"  also  in  brass.  The  return  trip  was 
made  with  difficulty  on  account  of  the  low-hanging 
branches  of  trees.  Then  Billy  spent  an  ecstatic  week 
distributing  things  to  suit  him. 

The  work  in  the  shafts  went  steadily  forward.  Billy 
was  willing  to  offer  a  bonus  on  the  contract  price  for 
a  quick  job,  so  the  contractors  took  on  extra  men. 
They  averaged  almost  a  foot  and  a  half  a  day,  which 
is  wonderfully  good.  The  work  indeed  went  on  so 
well  that  Billy  saw  he  would  need  the  mill  sooner  than 
he  had  expected,  so  he  resolved  to  begin  its  erection 
at  once.  He  hired  all  the  available  men,  but  soon  found 
that  he  would  have  to  seek  elsewhere  for  a  gang  ade- 


250  THE   WESTERNERS 

quate  to  such  an  undertaking.  He  imported  one  from 
Rockerville.  As  the  winter  came  on,  he  found  it  ex 
pedient  to  start  the  boarding  house  in  order,  as  he  said, 
"  To  get  those  cusses  up  in  the  mornin'  afore  the  sun 
sets."  The  move  necessitated  a  cook  and  "  cookee," 
and  the  weekly  purchase  of  provisions.  Since  he  had 
the  men  handy,  he  argued,  there  was  no  reason  why 
he  should  not  finish  up  the  small  details  and  odds  and 
ends  of  the  camp  in  a  respectable  manner,  and  so  he 
made  many  little  extraneous  improvements,  such  as 
a  flag  pole  and  a  rockery  of  pink  quartz  from  the  Custer 
trail.  Three  or  four  were  always  away  from  the  mill, 
levelling  up,  clearing  out  or  decorating.  From  Kan 
sas  City  he  imported  some  chickens  with  crested  heads 
and  a  number  of  pigeons  of  ancient  lineage.  The  lat 
ter  promptly  flew  back  to  Kansas  City.  As  the  novelty 
of  them  had  worn  off  Billy  took  their  loss  philosophi 
cally.  In  regard  to  externals  the  camp  began  to  wear 
a  very  prosperous  air. 

Copper  Creek  too  was  busy.  Over  forty  men  were 
hard  at  work  on  the  Great  Snake  itself.  Upward  of 
fifty  claims  were  in  the  course  of  development  near  at 
hand.  With  the  completion  of  the  mill  would  begin 
the  crushing  of  ore ;  with  the  crushing  of  ore  would 
begin  the  camp's  commercial  output;  with  that,  pro 
vided  it  were  satisfactory,  would  come  more  capitalists 
anxious  to  invest.  It  behooved  the  claim  owner  to 
have  his  exhibit  of  shaft  and  tunnel  ready  for  the  public 
inspection.  When  you  reflect  that  three  men  usually 
worked  on  a  claim  and  that  Copper  Creek's  entire  pop 
ulation  at  that  date  was  a  little  over  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  you  can  readily  see  that  it  was  indeed  a  lively 
camp.  Even  those  who  were  not  actually  engaged  in 


PROSPERITY  251 

prospecting  operations  found  their  time  fully  occupied 
in  providing  for  those  who  were.  Black  Jack  had  an 
assistant  now.  Moroney's  paper  came  out  as  often  as 
once  a  fortnight  and  was  beginning  to  be  mentioned 
by  the  Deadwood  Miner  as  "  our  esteemed  contempo 
rary."  Bill  Martin  had  been  seen  sweeping  out  his 
own  office.  The  dozen  of  women  and  girls  who  had 
drifted  in  with  newcomers,  scrubbed,  cooked,  washed 
and  sewed  in  a  struggle  to  keep  even  with  muddy  boots, 
miners'  appetites,  and  the  destructive  demands  of  min 
ers'  work.  Even  Frosty  improved  his  customary 
mooning  slouch. 

The  men  who  seemed  to  enjoy  unlimited  leisure 
could  be  counted  on  the  ringers  of  one  hand.  Chey 
enne  Harry  laughed  at  it  all.  His  one  claim  was  known 
to  be  a  mere  excuse  for  existence,  a  symbolic  reason 
for  his  connection  with  Copper  Creek.  Everybody 
knew  really  why  he  stayed.  He  was  supposed  to  be 
independently  rich,  though  none  claimed  any  knowl 
edge  of  how  he  came  to  be  so.  Then  there  was  the 
gambler,  the  faro  man,  who  sat  on  the  hotel  "  porch  " 
all  the  morning  smoking  endless  cigarettes,  his  broad 
straight  hat  tipped  a  little  sideways,  his  moustache 
brushed  neatly  away  to  show  his  white  teeth,  his  fine 
inscrutable  eyes  looking  cynically  from  his  equally  fine 
clear-cut  face,  speaking  seldom,  smiling  never,  im 
perturbable,  indifferent,  cat-like.  And  there  was  Du- 
rand,  but  he  did  not  count.  And  there  was  Michail 
Lafond. 

To  be  sure  the  half-breed  was  building  a  new  dance 
hall,  to  which  the  camp  entire  looked  with  anticipa 
tory  delight,  but  that  was  a  matter  of  four  walls  and 
A.  smooth  floor.  He  needed  only  to  give  his  orders. 


252  THE   WESTERNERS 

After  a  perfunctory  morning  inspection  he  had  the  day 
to  himself. 

The  work  at  the  Great  Snake  interested  him,  as  it 
did  everybody.  He  occupied  the  morning  about  the 
works,  poking  into  odd  corners,  questioning  the  work 
men,  making  suggestions  to  Billy.  He  sent  the  horse 
dealer  to  Billy,  and  mentioned  to  the  whim  man  that 
he  might  find  a  purchaser  there.  He  often  was  en 
abled  in  his  vaster  leisure  to  perceive  the  little  things 
that  lacked  and  to  point  out  their  necessity  to  Billy, 
which  individual  was  of  course  always  duly  grateful 
and  hastened  at  once  to  remedy  the  defect.  After  a 
more  or  less  lengthened  visit  the  half-breed  returned 
to  camp.  If  it  happened  still  to  lack  some  time  until 
dinner,  he  called  on  Moroney  in  the  editorial  rooms 
or  exchanged  sententious  comments  with  Bill  Martin, 
or  chatted  with  one  or  the  other  of  the  visitors  who 
happened  to  be  in  town.  After  dinner  he  disappeared 
until  supper.  The  time  was  spent  with  Durand.  The 
assaying  was  long  since  finished,  but  the  two  men  had 
grown  fond  of  each  other's  companionship.  It  was 
a  silent  companionship  for  the  most  part.  Lafond 
smoked  interminably  his  short  black  pipe,  turned  up 
side  down,  watching  the  naturalist  setting  carefully  the 
delicate  wings  of  a  butterfly  or  arranging  in  a  paper 
cylinder  the  skin  of  a  bird,  or  searching,  spectacled, 
in  black  volumes  of  Government  reports.  Occasion 
ally,  when  Durand  looked  up  from  his  absorption,  they 
exchanged  a  few  swift  remarks,  elided,  compressed, 
telegraphic ;  for  they  understood  each  other  so  well 
that  the  unabridged  form  of  speech  was  no  longer  nec 
essary.  On  fine  days  they  beat  the  brushy  creek 
bottoms  for  the  Nitra,  the  rare  Papilo  which  men  sup- 


PROSPERITY  253 

posed  to  be  extinct.  And  then,  after  the  early  darkness 
of  winter  fell,  they  would  be  seized  by  strange  obses 
sions  of  loquacity.  Jacques,  the  raccoon,  a  ball  of  fur 
under  the  faint  red  stove,  blinked  at  them  shrewdly, 
wondering  what  it  was  all  about. 

In  the  evening,  of  course,  Lafond  had  the  Little 
Nugget  to  take  care  of.  The  saloon  had  as  yet  no 
rivals.  The  size  of  the  town  perhaps  warranted  an 
other  establishment,  but  Lafond  was  a  monopolist  by 
nature.  He  treated  the  men  well,  with  a  geniality  be 
hind  which  were  unsounded  depths  of  reserve.  There 
fore  they  respected  him.  The  space  about  the  iron 
stove  before  the  bar  came  to  be  the  Town  Hall.  Mat 
ters  of  public  importance  were  discussed  every  evening. 
Billy  there  told  things  he  ought  not  to  have  told.  The 
atmosphere  was  expansive,  encouraged  one  to  show 
off.  After  one  had  recounted  the  obvious,  one  was  in 
clined  in  the  heat  of  the  moment  to  fall  back  on  the 
confidential,  merely  for  lack  of  something  else  to  say. 
The  camp  to  a  man  knew  the  amount  of  Billy's  ex 
penditures,  the  number  of  his  shafts.  It  heard  ex 
tracts  from  all  his  letters  to  and  from  the  East.  It  was 
acquainted  with  all  his  and  the  Company's  plans.  A 
good  many  of  the  cooler  heads  felt  the  intrinsic  inju- 
diciousness  of  this;  but  after  all  there  could  be  no 
traitors  among  them,  because  in  the  end  the  prosperity 
of  every  man  present  depended  on  Billy's  success. 

But  while  the  Great  Snake  was  the  main  topic  of 
conversation,  and  always  remained  ultimately  the  most 
important,  its  present  interest,  as  spring  drew  near, 
became  overshadowed  by  that  of  the  new  dance  hall. 

The  Westerner  loves  to  dance.  A  street  organ  sets 
him  shuffling.  He  will  drive  twenty  miles  in  a  spring- 


254  THE   WESTERNERS 

less  wagon  and  twenty  miles  back  again  in  the  gray- 
ness  of  dawn  to  stamp  his  feet  to  the  sound  of  an  ac 
cordion.  Every  camp  has  its  organized  dance  joint,  a 
sort  of  hall  mark  of  its  genuineness  as  a  camp.  Now 
with  the  approach  of  the  date  for  formal  opening  this 
long  musicless  community  woke  up  to  its  deprivation. 
All  the  details  of  the  new  establishment  were  enjoyed 
in  anticipation.  It  had  a  planed  floor.  The  boards  had 
been  brought  by  wagon  from  McGuire's  mill  at  Her- 
mosa.  It  was  to  be  lighted  by  real  locomotive  lanterns 
of  an  impressive  but  meaningless  number  of  candle 
power.  It  was  to  be  entirely  draped  with  flags.  The 
musicians  were  to  be  imported  from  Spanish  Gulch. 
Lafond  dispensed  this  and  similar  information  spar 
ingly,  in  order  that  it  might  be  made  the  most  of.  He 
promised  the  "  opening  ball  "  for  May  if  possible. 

"  That  depends,  of  course,"  he  always  concluded  his 
statements,  short  or  long. 


XXVIII 

LAFOND   GOES   EAST 

ABOUT  the  middle  of  February  Lafond  varied 
the  monotony  of  his  daily  programme.  He 
ceased  to  visit  the  Great  Snake  camp,  on  which 
work  was  proceeding  as  rapidly  as  ever,  and  took  to 
writing  letters.  He  wrote  a  great  many,  and  always 
mailed  them  himself  with  Blair,  the  driver  of  the  stage. 
He  announced  one  evening  in  the  middle  of  March 
that  he  was  about  to  leave  for  a  short  trip. 

"  I  have  the  round  to  make,"  he  said  resignedly. 
"  There  are  many  places  which  each  year  I  must  visit. 
1  go  to  Deadwood,  Spearfish,  Custer,  Sheridan,  Edge- 
mont,  Rapid,  Buffalo  Gap,  many  others.  I  may  be 
gone  a  month." 

"  But  yore  comin'  back,  ain't  you  ?  "  asked  someone. 

"  But  yes,"  assured  the  half-breed.  "  Have  we  not 
the  opening  of  the  dance  hall  ?  " 

So  the  very  next  morning  he  boarded  the  stage  for 
Rapid.  At  Rapid  he  bought  a  return  ticket  to  Chi 
cago.  This  was  one  of  the  results  of  the  correspond 
ence  he  J-ad  been  carrying  on  for  a  month  past.  His 
first  letter  had  run  about  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Frederick  Stevens,  Chicago. 

"  DEAR  SIR — You  will  perhaps  remember  me  as  one 
of  your  hosts  during  your  late  visit  to  this  camp.  If 
you  do,  you  will  remember  also  that  I  am  interested 
financially,  and  so  the  good  of  the  camp  is  my  good. 
You  will  further  recollect  that  I  was  present  at  the 

255 


256  THE  WESTERNERS 

meeting  held  in  Knapp's  shack  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  with  him.  For  that  reason  I  happen  to  know 
your  plans  and  expectations.  The  expectations  were 
that  your  first  investment  of  fifty  thousand  dollars 
would  complete  the  works  to  a  paying  basis.  I  have 
no  means  of  knowing  the  exact  amount  of  Knapp's 
expenditures  to  now,  but  they  must  be  considerable, 
and  I  feel  that  my  interests  and  yours  require  that  you 
know  just  what  the  returns  are. 

"  The  results  you  should  get  with  your  fifty  thou 
sand  dollars  are,  that  you  should  have,  on  each  claim, 
shafts  to  below  water  level  with  cross-cuts  and  drifts, 
a  mill  set  up  and  ready,  a  pump  and  hoist  on  each 
shaft,  a  month's  fuel,  a  month's  wages  for  men  with 
food  and  expenses  and  a  camp  in  good  working  order. 

"  The  shafts  are  almost  done,  but  they  are  sunk  on 
contract  and  are  not  paid  for  yet.  The  mill  is  half  up ; 
there  is  one  pump  and  two  hoists  not  up  yet.  That  is 
all  that  is  done.  It  seemed  to  me  Knapp  has  not  spent 
his  money  well,  because  there  is  much  about  camp 
which  he  does  not  need. 

"  I  tell  you  this  because  I  am  interested." 

Here  Black  Mike  paused  and  tapped  his  teeth 
thoughtfully  with  the  end  of  his  penholder.  Then 
he  smiled  cynically  to  himself  and  went  on — "  To  speak 
plainly,  I  think  the  waste  has  gone  beyond  what  you 
can  afford.  Only  a  man  living  here  and  knowing  min 
ing  well  could  make  it  pay.  I  do  not  ask  you  to  be 
lieve  this,  but  see  for  yourself  how  you  stand,  and  I 
may  be  able  to  make  you  an  offer." 

By  return  of  post  Lafond  was  frantically  called  upon 
to  explain.  He  did  so.  Billy  had  been  wasteful  and 
extravagant.  It  was  not  Billy's  fault  perhaps,  but  he 


LAFOND   GOES   EAST  257 

\vas  evidently  not  the  man  for  the  place.  Lafond  had 
had  but  a  vague  idea  of  how  things  were  going,  but 
lately  he  had  been  at  more  pains  to  gain  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  affairs.  He  had  found  things  as  above 
stated.  He  did  not  write  at  all  as  a  friend  of  the  Com-  , 
pany,  but  because  he  believed  he  could  perhaps  make 
something  by  taking  the  property  himself.  Instinc 
tively  the  half-breed  knew  that  an  insistence  on  his  own 
selfishness  was  the  surest  way  of  impressing  these 
Easterners  with  his  sincerity.  For  that  reason  he  de 
manded  his  expenses  when  he  was  asked  to  go  East 
for  consultation. 

The  Chicago  men  were  badly  frightened.  Lafond 
repeated  clearly  at  greater  length  what  he  had  told 
them  in  his  letters.  It  had  been  a  case  of  a  man  un 
used  to  the  handling  of  money.  He  insisted  that  in 
actual  value  there  existed  not  one  quarter  of  the  sum 
Knapp  had  expended ;  and  he  further  claimed  that  af 
fairs  were  in  such  shape  West  that  as  much  more  would 
have  to  be  invested  before  the  mine  could  be  put  on  a 
paying  basis. 

"  Then,"  said  he,  "  you  have  your  cost  of  production 
and  your  camp  expenses  always.  From  your  profits 
above  them  you  have  to  make  up  what  Knapp  has  spent 
and  what  you  will  have  to  spend.  That  takes  your 
close  attention  and  many  years.  For  that  I  think  you 
will  not  wish  to  go  ahead ;  and  for  that  I  come  to  make 
you  an  offer  that  will  make  it  for  you  not  an  entire 
loss.  I  do  not  ask  that  you  believe  me.  Investigate." 

"  Would  you  be  willing  to  wait  here  while  we  in 
vestigate  ?  "  asked  Murphy. 

"  Always,  for  my  expenses,"  replied  Lafond  calmly. 

The  Easterners  consulted. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Stevens.    "  Call  it  that," 


258  THE   WESTERNERS 

Lafond  in  the  little  room  at  his  hotel  looked  at  him 
self  closely  in  the  glass. 

"  A  fool  tor  luck !  a  fool  for  luck !  "  he  cried  at  the 
imaged  reflection,  repeating  his  old  formula. 

Stevens  was  gone  just  ten  days.  Of  course  he  said 
nothing  of  Lafond's  presence  in  Chicago.  He  had 
merely  dropped  in  to  look  over  the  property,  as  was 
natural.  Most  of  the  men  wondered  why  he  had  not 
done  so  before.  He  was  cordial  to  Billy,  looked  over 
what  had  been  done,  asked  many  questions,  listened 
attentively  to  all  Billy  had  to  say  and  departed  in  the 
most  friendly  spirit.  When  he  arrived  in  Chicago,  he 
went  directly  to  his  office  in  the  Monadnock  Building, 
where  he  had  already  assembled  his  associates  by  tele 
graph. 

Stevens  was  brief,  business-like  and  coldly  impar 
tial.  In  a  man  of  his  sort  that  indicated  that  he  was 
very  angry  and  chagrined. 

"  I  have  the  following  figures  to  submit,"  said  he, 
taking  up  a  paper.  "  They  are  accurate,  as  I  consulted 
with  an  expert  as  to  the  items  of  future  expense  before 
leaving  Rapid. 

10  horses  at  105.00 $1,050.00 

10  sets  harness  at  60.00         ....  600.00 

Mill  machinery 6,500.00 

Pumps,  hoists 1,250.00 

4  months'  wages  at  4.00  a  day     .        .        .  4,800.00 

2*/2  months'  boarding  expenses    .        .        .  610.00 

Hay,  tools,  implements         .        .        .        .  1,165.00 

Wagons,  household  goods    ....  2,560.00 

Miscellaneous 2,112.00 

Building  roads 829.00 


$21,476.00 


LAFOND  GOES   EAST  259 

"  That  is  what  has  been  spent  up  to  date  according 
to  Knapp's  accounts." 

"  But  hold  on  !  "  interjected  Murphy ;  "  he  has  drawn 
six  drafts.  That  makes  thirty  thousand.  Has  he  eight 
thousand  in  hand  ?  Why  did  he  have  to  draw  the  last 
draft?" 

"  He  doesn't  know,"  replied  Stevens  grimly.  "  His 
bank  balance,"  he  declared,  consulting  the  paper 
again,  "  is  just  $1,12640.  He  says  he  doesn't  know 
where  the  balance  is." 

"  Do  you  think ?" 

"  Not  at  all.  He  is  perfectly  honest.  That  is  the 
way  he  does  things." 

"  Here,"  went  on  Stevens  after  a  moment,  "  is  what 
remains  to  be  done  before  we  can  even  start  to  work. 
It  is  an  estimate,  but  it  is  a  close  one ;  for,  as  I  told 
you,  I  had  assistance  in  making  it  out : 

Mills,  pumps,  hoists $12,000.00 

Sheds,  ore-dumps,  etc.        ....  1,500.00 

20  horses  and  harness 3,200.00 

Men,  etc 5,000.00 

Wagons  and  tools 5,000.00 


$26,700.00 

That  is  to  bring  us  up  to  the  efficient  working  point. 
Now  here  are  our  liabilities : 

Miscellaneous  bills $850.00 

Contract  on  1,100  feet  of  shaft  and  tunnel 

at  20  a  foot   .  22,000.00 


$22,850.00 

That  is  what  we  owe,  gentlemen,"  concluded  Stevens, 
slapping  his  papers  on  the  table  and  looking  about 


26o  THE   WESTERNERS 

him.  "  Now  if  you  want  to  throw  good  money  after 
bad,  you  can  do  so,"  he  continued  after  a  moment; 
"  but  this  is  a  limited  liability  company  and  I  am  done. 
I  am  strongly  in  favor  of  pulling  out  some  way  to  save 
our  names  as  promoters  of  such  a  fool  enterprise,  but 
I  think  we  should  pull  out.  This  man  Lafond  thinks 
he  can  do  something  with  the  property  if  he  has  a  fair 
show,  and  perhaps  we  can  save  something  through 
him.  Our  fifty  thousand  is  gone — and  more,  after  we've 
paid  our  debt  to  those  men — and  anything  we  can  save 
out  of  such  a  mess  seems  to  me  clear  gain." 

And  so  with  equal  haste  they  scrambled  out. 

The  first  inexplicable  phenomenon  is  the  sanguine 
blindness  such  men  show  in  going  into  mining;  the 
second  is  the  headlong  thoughtlessness  with  which  they 
draw  out.  Anything  to  get  back  to  daylight  appar 
ently. 

Again  the  parallel  of  the  button-hook  factory.  In 
case  of  failure  these  men  would  have  first  looked  the 
ground  over  well  for  possible  retrenchment  along  the 
old  lines  of  expenditure :  that  failing,  they  would  have 
examined  closely  for  a  possible  new  plan.  But  in  the 
present  case  they  never  even  conceived  the  possibility 
of  any  scale  of  operation  different  from  that  grand  vi 
sion  of  eleven  contiguous  mines  all  going  at  full  blast 
which  Billy's  vivid  imagination  had  called  into  being. 
Lafond  saw  it  clearly  enough.  Had  he  been  so  minded, 
he  could  have  set  the  whole  matter  right ;  just  as,  if  he 
had  been  so  minded,  he  could  have  turned  the  trend 
of  Billy  Knapp's  extravagance  with  a  little  timely 
advice. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  could  have  said,  "  has  it  ever  oc 
curred  to  you  to  start  on  a  small  scale  and  work  up 


LAFOND  GOES   EAST  261 

gradually  to  a  larger  ?  You  can  mine  one  shaft  on  one 
claim  with  one  cheap  five-stamp  mill.  In  that  way  you 
could  at  least  pay  expenses  from  the  very  surface. 
After  a  little  you  can  pay  more.  Then  you  might  open 
up  another  claim.  That  would  take  time  to  be  sure; 
but  what  business  does  not  take  time  ?  " 

His  actual  speech  was  of  quite  different  tenor. 
When  called  before  the  meeting  by  a  special  messenger, 
and  asked  to  name  the  terms  he  was  willing  to  offer, 
he  replied  quite  simply — 

"  Fifteen  thousand  dollars." 

This  was,  of  course,  quite  unthinkable.  An  ani 
mated  discussion  ensued. 

"  We  have  spent  over  twenty  thousand  dollars,"  said 
Stevens,  "  and  we  owe  twenty-six  thousand  more. 
Then  the  claims  are  worth  something,  surely.  It 
would  be  better  to  hold  the  property  just  as  it  stands, 
on  the  chance  of  some  future  sale." 

"  Of  the  twenty  thousand  you  have  spent,"  retorted 
Lafond,  "  fifteen  has  been  spent  uselessly.  I  mean  not 
that  it  was  all  waste,  but  that  if  I  had  been  running  the 
mine  I  could  have  bought  all  I  would  need  for  five 
thousand.  And  as  for  the  twenty-six  thousand  you 
owe,  what  with  bonuses  for  fast  work  and  contracts  at 
a  high  price,  it  ought  all  to  have  been  completed  for 
fifteen  thousand.  And  besides,  if  it  was  I  who  had  de 
veloped  the  property,  I  would  not  have  sunk  all  these 
shafts  before  making  the  mill  to  work.  I  would  have 
my  mine  to  pay  before.  I  am  making  you  the  offer  of 
five  thousand  for  the  mine  and  ten  thousand  for  the 
works." 

This  argument  carried  some  weight.  It  availed  to 
induce  an  acceptance  of  Lafond's  final  offer  of  five 


262  THE   WESTERNERS 

thousand  cash,  and  the  assumption  of  the  twenty-six 
thousand  debt.  A  man  in  his  position  and  in  his  busi 
ness  could  easily  reduce  the  latter  item. 

"  Of  course  this  is  merely  informal,"  explained 
Stevens.  "  We  have  to  call  a  directors'  meeting  yet 
to  take  official  action." 

"  We  hold  controlling  interest,"  added  Murphy,  for 
the  purpose  of  reassuring  Lafond. 

"  I  understand,"  said  the  latter.  "  And  now  another 
thing.  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  the  camp  it 
self?" 

Stevens  hesitated.  "  I  suppose  we'll  shut  down  and 
give  Knapp  his  walking  papers,"  he  answered  at  last. 

"  That  is  just  it.  I  want  that  you  look  out  for  my 
interests  in  that.  If  you  shut  down,  that  gives  the 
camp  a  bad  name,  and  a  bad  name  is  of  all  things  in 
the  West  the  worst.  And  you  know  not  that  man 
Knapp.  You  discharge  him.  Eh,  well  ?  He  is  angry  ; 
he  is  without  law ;  he  is  reckless.  He  is  able  to  do  that 
which  he  wishes.  He  can  burn  the  buildings,  break 
the  machinery.  Who  is  it  that  will  stop  him?  No, 
when  Knapp  is  discharged,  it  must  be  that  the  deeds 
are  in  my  hands,  so  that  I  can  protect  my  property." 

All  saw  the  justice  of  this  argument. 

"  What  would  you  suggest  then  ?  "  asked  the  chair 
man. 

"  How  is  it  that  you  intend  to  discharge  him  ? "  re 
turned  Lafond. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  What  is  the  formality  ?  Do  you  just  write  and  tell 
him  he  is  discharged  ?  " 

"  Oh !  No ;  we  call  a  directors'  meeting,  and  pass 
resolutions  to  that  effect,  a  copy  of  which  we  send  him. 


LAFOND  GOES   EAST  263 

We  will  do  that  at  the  same  time  we  authorize  the  sale 
to  you." 

Lafond  drummed  for  a  moment  on  the  polished  table 
near  his  hand. 

"  Eh,  well,"  he  announced  at  last,  "  let  it  be  like 
this.  When  it  is  that  you  have  had  your  directors' 
meeting  and  have  passed  your  resolutions,  then  you 
send  your  copy  to  me,  and  I  will  give  it  to  Knapp. 
Thus  I  will  be  on  the  ground  to  see  that  he  makes 
no  trouble.  And  at  the  same  time  you  send  the  deeds 
to  this  man  " — he  rapidly  scribbled  an  address — "  he  is 
a  notary  public  at  Rapid.  You  will  have  time  to  look 
up  his  reliability.  He  can  hold  the  deeds  until  I  pay 
to  him  the  five  thousand  dollars  and  sign  a  contract 
to  take  the  debt  we  spoke  of.  Is  that  satisfactory  ?  " 
'"  Quite,"  they  agreed. 

"  How  long  will  it  be  before  you  finish  your  meet 
ings?" 

"  Ten  days.  It  takes  a  week's  notice  for  a  special 
meeting." 

On  the  way  to  South  Dakota  again  Lafond  stared 
out  of  the  windows  with  unseeing  eyes  in  which 
lurked  laughter.  "  Ten  days,"  said  he  to  himself,  pass 
ing  the  fingers  of  one  hand  softly  over  the  palm  of  the 
other.  His  dark  bearded  face  in  the  twilight  lost  its 
outlines  against  the  upholstery  of  the  Pullman.  A 
nervous  little  bride  on  her  wedding  trip  to  California 
grasped  her  husband's  arm. 

"  What  is  it,  dear?  "  inquired  the  latter. 

"  Foolishness,"  she  laughed,  a  little  forcedly.  "  But 
see  that  man's  eyes.  Aren't  they  uncanny  ?  " 

"  Looks  a  bit  like  a  maniac,"  admitted  the  groom, 
"  but  it's  this  queer  light.  Odd  fellow.  Looks  as  if  he 


264  THE  WESTERNERS 

might  have  one  of  those  interesting  Western  histories 
you  read  about." 

"  A  fool  for  luck !  A  fool  for  luck !  "  Black  Mike 
was  repeating  to  himself.  "  Ten  days !  I  can  fix  the 
date  for  that  dance-hall  opening  now  1 " 


XXIX 

BISMARCK   ANNE    ARRIVES 

AS  has  been  hinted,  the  outward  and  visible  signs 
of  prosperity  had  to  some  extent  increased  bhe 
feminine  population  of  Copper  Creek.  Molly 
Lafond  had  long  since  lost  the  distinction  of  being  the 
only  woman  in  camp.  Some  of  the  newcomers  were 
blessed  with  wives,  one  or  two  were  favored  with 
daughters.  All  told,  there  were  perhaps  fifteen  or 
twenty  of  the  gentler  sex  scattered  among  the  new  and 
old  log  cabins  of  the  valley. 

But  from  them  Molly  had  little  to  fear  in  the  way 
of  rivalry.  The  older  women  were  either  buxom  and 
decisive,  representing  the  sturdier  pioneer  race,  or  dys 
peptic  and  drawling,  as  typical  of  the  effects  of  a  high 
altitude  on  nervous  and  underfed  organizations.  The 
young  girls  were  angular,  awkward  and  shy,  espe 
cially  so  when  in  the  presence  of  Miss  Molly's  breezy 
self-possession.  They  would  all  make  good  "  filling  " 
at  the  new  dance-house  ball,  but  they  would  never  ob 
trude  into  the  foreground. 

Then  Bismarck  Anne  came  to  camp.  She  conceived 
the  idea  quite  suddenly,  late  one  afternoon,  and  with 
out  so  much  as  a  word  to  anybody  she  strapped  her 
most  becoming  ball-gown  inside  a  poncho  and  rode 
across  from  Spanish  Gulch  on  her  little  pinto  pony. 

Bismarck  Anne  was  at  that  time  in  the  heyday  of  her 
youth  and  prosperity.  She  was  of  the  dark-skinned, 

265 


266  THE  WESTERNERS 

black-haired,  black-eyed  type,  so  "  common  "  when  it 
falls  just  short  of  attractiveness,  but  so  abundantly  vital 
when,  as  in  the  present  case,  it  does  not  fall  short. 
Bismarck  Anne  was  instinct,  charged  with  life.  Into 
everything  she  did  she  threw  a  verve  and  abandon  that 
carried  the  adventure  well  through  with  something  to 
spare.  And  she  was  afraid  of  nothing.  She  denied  the 
possibility  of  nothing. 

About  three  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  she  galloped  in. 
A  number  of  men  recognized  her  and  ran  to  help  her 
down  from  her  horse.  Everybody  knew  her  by  sight 
or  reputation,  but  few  had  ever  dared  attempt  her  ac 
quaintance,  for  ordinarily  Bismarck  Anne  chose  her 
coterie  from  the  powerful  and  wealthy.  Now,  however, 
there  seemed  to  be  little  cause  for  anxiety  on  that  point. 
Bismarck  Anne  had  come  over  for  a  good  time  and 
she  was  going  to  have  it.  If  the  men  who  surrounded 
her  on  her  arrival  felt  any  momentary  restraint  or  trep 
idation,  they  were  almost  immediately  set  at  ease  by 
the  warmth  of  her  manner. 

It  was  Old  Mizzou,  I  believe,  who  steadied  her  stir 
rup,  and  Dave  Kelly  who  helped  her  from  her  horse 
and  held  her  a  moment  longer  than  was  necessary,  and, 
to  his  vast  astonishment,  instead  of  being  slapped  was 
heartily  kissed  for  his  temerity.  There  was  a  breathless 
element  of  unexpectedness  in  this  which  appealed  to 
the  miners'  sense  of  humor,  and  they  all  laughed  con- 
sumedly  and  felt  good  comrades  at  once.  Old  Mizzou 
mentally  added  another  exception  to  his  sweeping  rule 
about  "  grass  widders  and  school  ma'ams."  There 
sprang  up  a  rapid  fire  of  good-humored  joking  back 
and  forth  in  which  no  man  was  favored,  where  each 
had  a  chance  to  enter  the  lists,  and  in  the  course  of 


BISMARCK   ANNE  ARRIVES      267 

which  each  conceived  an  inner  conviction  that  all  he 
needed  to  "  win  out  "  was  a  chance  unhindered  by  the 
crowd.  Bismarck  Anne  stood  in  the  centre  of  the 
group,  flashing  her  black  eyes  back  and  forth  from 
one  to  the  other  and  showing  her  white  teeth  in  a 
series  of  dazzling  smiles. 

Just  at  this  moment  Cheyenne  Harry  and  Molly  La- 
fond,  returning  from  one  of  their  numerous  expedi 
tions,  caught  sight  of  the  animated  group  near  the 
hotel,  and  naturally  turned  aside  to  investigate  its 
cause. 

Bismarck  Anne  faced  toward  them. 

"  Why,  Harry !  "  she  cried,  holding  out  both  hands, 
"  you  here  ?  I  didn't  know  you-all  hung  out  in  this 
camp.  You  look  just  the  same  as  ever.  'Spose  you're 
goin'  to  take  in  th'  dance  to-night.  Yes,  that's  what 
I  came  over  for ;  that  an'  nothing  else.  We'll  have  to 
stir  this  camp  up  a  bit  and  make  her  seem  like  old 
times.  I'm  afraid  you  boys  have  been  getting  a  little 
slow,"  she  flashed  good-humoredly  at  the  others. 
"  Harry,  you  ought  to  have  seen  them  when  I  kissed 
that  boy  over  there,  just  for  a  '  kid,'  you  know.  I  don't 
believe  you've  get  a  girl  in  this  camp  who  knows  beans, 
and  it's  about  time  you  did.  I'm  mighty  glad  to  see 
you.  But  you  got  to  watch  out,  though !  This  is  a 
pretty  good-looking  lot  of  boys,  and  you'll  have  to 
hustle  to  hold  your  job."  She  said  this  still  holding 
both  his  hands  in  hers,  and  alternately  smiling  now  at 
him,  now  at  the  men  about  her.  She  had  taken  rapid 
stock  of  Molly — whom  she  now  ignored  for  the  mo 
ment — and  had  as  rapidly  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
if  a  rival  were  to  appear  at  all,  it  would  be  Harry's  com 
panion.  She  hoped  her  speech  would  at  the  same  time 


268  THE   WESTERNERS 

attach  Harry  to  herself,  and  render  assiduous  his  de 
votions  by  a  fear  of  rivalry. 

"  You  bet  we  will !  "  cried  Harry.  His  manner  was 
enthusiastic,  not  so  much  with  joy  over  seeing  Bis 
marck  Anne,  as  \vith  instinctive  relief  from  the  tension 
of  his  rather  sentimental  interview  with  Molly.  He  re 
membered  the  latter  and  performed  some  sort  of  an 
introduction. 

The  two  women  looked  each  other  in  the  eye. 

"  How  do  you  do  ?  "  asked  Molly  coolly,  without 
moving  an  inch. 

"  Very  well,  my  dear,"  replied  Bismarck  Anne  smil 
ing,  "  and  very  glad  to  get  here." 

The  endearing  epithet  relegated  Molly  at  once  to  the 
category  of  little  girls. 

The  conversation  continued  for  some  moments 
longer,  the  men  standing  as  silent  spectators.  Molly 
continued  very  reserved.  The  newcomer  did  not  ap 
pear  to  notice  it,  but  chattered  on  unconcernedly  in  a 
light-hearted  fashion,  appealing  to  the  other  just  often 
enough  to  convey  the  idea  that  there  was  nothing 
noticeably  repellent  in  her  manner.  In  fact  she  did  it 
so  well  that  the  group  gained  the  impression  that  Molly 
carried  her  share  of  the  small  talk,  which  was  not  true. 
But  in  spite  of  the  apparent  good-feeling  Cheyenne 
Harry  felt  uncomfortably  that  something  was  wrong. 
Searching  about  for  the  cause,  he  at  last  discovered  it 
in  Molly's  attitude. 

So  on  the  way  to  the  cabin  he  was  vexed,  and  showed 
it.  And  Molly  felt  so  strongly  the  innate  justice  of  her 
position  and  appreciated  so  keenly  the  skill  with  which 
she  had  been  made  to  appear  sulky  and  unreasonable, 
that  when  she  had  finally  shut  her  own  door  behind  her, 


BISMARCK   ANNE  ARRIVES      269 

she  threw  herself  on  her  bed  and  cried  as  though  her 
heart  would  break.  Then  her  blood  told.  She  dried  her 
eyes  and  in  her  inmost  heart  she  declared  war  against 
this  woman,  war  to  the  knife  and  to  the  uttermost. 
The  momentary  defeat  dashed  her  at  first,  then  it  nerved 
her.  After  all  nothing  definite  had  occurred.  This 
creature  had  planted  several  stinging  thrusts  which  had 
hit  home  because  Molly,  in  the  innocence  of  her  heart, 
was  not  expecting  them.  She  was  on  her  guard  now. 
It  would  not  happen  again.  Cheyenne  Harry  had 
known  the  woman  before,  evidently,  and  surely  it  was 
natural  that  in  the  first  surprise  of  seeing  her  so  unex 
pectedly,  he  should  display  a  certain  enthusiasm  of 
recognition.  But  his  relations  with  her — Molly  La- 
fond — were  too  intimate,  too  long-continued,  to  be 
lightly  broken. 

As  the  twilight  fell  she  saw,  through  the  oblong  of 
her  sliding  window,  that  men  were  hurrying  by  to  dine 
early,  in  order  that  they  might  prepare  for  the  festivi 
ties  of  the  evening.  Across  the  square  she  could  make 
out  the  dim  shape  of  the  new  dance  hall,  a  long  low 
structure  trimmed  with  evergreens  and  bunting. 
Frosty  was  even  then  lighting  the  lamps  in  the  Little 
Nugget.  She  sat  there  motionless,  staring  out  into 
the  night,  fingering  the  soft  white  stuff  of  the  gown 
lying  across  her  lap,  until  a  certain  peace  came  to  her 
and  a  conviction  that  all  would  be  well. 

The  night  was  warm  and  balmy  with  the  odors  of 
early  spring.  Molly  had  slid  back  the  halves  of  her 
narrow  window,  and  over  the  boxes  of  flowers  that 
fringed  this  little  artificial  horizon  the  mellow  notes  of 
the  first  whitethroat,  that  nightingale  of  the  north, 
floated  in  on  the  tepid  air.  Beyond  the  nearer  silhou- 


270  THE   WESTERNERS 

ette  of  the  flowers  another  dimmer  silhouette  of  the 
hills  wavered  uncertainly  beneath  a  few  uncertain 
stars.  The  girl  watched  these  stars  idly,  dreaming  in 
tune  with  the  plaintive  notes  of  the  bird.  Then  si 
lently  another  bulkier  silhouette  interposed  itself,  al 
most  rilling  the  window. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  cried,  starting. 

"  It'?  I,"  came  the  voice  of  Jack  Graham.  The 
silhouette  rested  two  black-outlined  elbows  against  the 
sill. 

"  My,  how  you  frightened  me !  "  she  cried  pettishly. 
"  What  in  the  world  do  you  want  ?    Why  aren't  you  at 
dinner?" 

"  Molly,"  said  Graham  solemnly,  "  I  don't  suppose 
you'll  listen  to  me.  We  haven't  gotten  along  very  well 
lately,  have  we?  But  I  want  you  to  know  that  I  am 
asking  this  for  your  sake,  and  that  I  believe  it." 

She  was  impressed  by  the  sincere  quality  of  his  tone. 
"  Why,  Jack,"  she  said  softly,  "  I  know  you  mean  well, 
and  I  suppose  I  am  very  frivolous  and  careless.  What 
is  it?" 

"  I  wish  you  would  not  go  to  the  dance  to-night." 

There  fell  a  pause.  She  was  evidently  in  a  softened 
mood  and  she  wished  to  conduct  the  interview  con 
siderately.  "  But,  Jack,"  she  hesitatingly  asked  at  last. 
"  Do  you  think  there  is  going  to  be  trouble  ?  " 

"  It  will  only  give  you  pain.  You  are  going  to  be 
forced  against  things  you  have  never  had  to  combat 
before." 

"  I  don't  understand  you." 

"  I  am  going  to  talk  very  plainly,  Molly ;  I  hope  you 
won't  get  angry.  I  can't  help  it  if  you  do.  It's  because 
I  love  you  so,  girl ;  I  love  you  so !  " 


BISMARCK  ANNE   ARRIVES      271 

His  voice  was  deep  and  rich  with  emotion,  so  poig 
nant  and  compelling  that  it  forced  her  attention  in  spite 
of  herself.  This  was  a  declaration,  she  dimly  felt,  and  yet 
its  import  as  such  was  somehow  lost  in  the  more  preg 
nant  subject-matter  to  which  it  but  added  emphasis. 

"  Go  on,"  she  said  breathlessly. 

"  You  are  well  liked  by  everybody  here,"  he  con 
tinued,  carefully  avoiding  more  pointed  personalities, 
"  and  you  have  grown  so  used  to  being  liked  by  every 
body  that  it  would  hurt  you  cruelly  if  you  were  not. 
Isn't  that  true?  " 

"  Yes,"  assented  Molly  gravely,  after  a  moment's 
consideration. 

"  You  want  to  hold  first  place  in  their  thoughts  and 
in  their  goodwill.  You  want  to  be  first  with  them  and 
you  want  them  to  show  to  you  and  to  each  other  by 
their  actions  that  they  are  your  best  friends  and  are 
going  to  stand  by  you.  Do  I  read  you  right  ?  " 

"  Yes,  of  course  I  want  all  the  boys  to  like  me.  I've 
known  them  so  long,  and  I  should  feel  dreadfully  if 
they  didn't.  But  what  do  you  mean  by  it?  I  don't 
understand." 

The  silhouette  moved  uneasily.  "  Now  don't  get 
angry,"  he  pleaded.  "  Take  to-night.  To  speak 
plainly,  you  want  to  be  the  woman  who  receives  the 
most  attention  at  that  ball.  Answer  frankly." 

"  Well,"  confessed  the  girl  after  another  moment's 
hesitation,  "  frankly  then,  I  do." 

"  Y©u  will  not." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  the  woman  who  came  this  afternoon,  Bis 
marck  Anne,  will  take  your  place." 

Molly  Lafond  would  have  become  angry  if  her  ex- 


272  THE   WESTERNERS 

perience  of  the  afternoon  had  not  already  made  her 
uneasy  on  just  this  point. 

"  Do  you  consider  her  more  attractive  than  me  ?  " 
she  asked  a  little  resentfully. 

"  A  thousand  times  No !  "  assured  the  silhouette. 

"  Has  she  known  the  boys  as  long  as  I  ?  Is  she  as 
good  friends  with  them  ?  Can  she  talk  better  ?  Is  she 
brighter?" 

"  No." 

"  Then  I  don't  believe  I  quite  see." 

"  It's  just  this.  The  men  all  like  you  and  admire 
you,  and  would  do  anything  for  you,  but  at  the  same 
time  they  look  up  to  you  a  little.  You  are  better  than 
they  are,  so,  more  or  less,  they  are  a  little — well — a 
little  restricted  with  you.  This  woman  is  their  sort. 
She  isn't  a  bit  better  than  they  are.  When  they  are  out 
to  have  a  good  time,  like  at  the  dance  to-night,  they 
want  somebody  they  can  have  their  sort  of  fun  with. 
You  are  too  good  for  them." 

"  That  is  very  theoretical." 

"  It  is  very  true." 

"  And  supposing,  just  supposing,  it  were.  You  want 
me  to  lie  down  and  quit  without  making  a  fight.  Do 
you  call  that  being  game  ?  What  would  you  think  of  a 
man  who  would  run  away  because  the  other  man  was 
a  little  stronger?  Don't  you  think  I'd  fight?  " 

"  That's  just  it.    You'd  fight  too  well." 

"  I  don't " 

"  She  has  ways  of  drawing  men  to  her  which  you 
know  nothing  about.  They  are  her  weapons.  I  know 
you'd  fight.  You'd  fight  to  the  last  because  it  is  in  you 
to,  and  I'm  afraid,  very  much  afraid,  that  when  you 
found  your  weapons  were  not  enough  you'd  use  hers/' 


BISMARCK   ANNE  ARRIVES      273 

There  fell  between  them  a  long  silence,  while  Molly 
slowly  pondered  these  last  words  and  gradually  appre 
hended  their  meaning.  In  the  darkness  she  could  feel 
the  blood  tingeinig  her  face,  forehead,  and  neck.  At 
first  she  was  inclined  to  be  angry  and  to  show  it,  but 
the  man's  evident  sincerity,  coupled  with  the  fervor  of 
his  incidental  declaration  of  love,  softened  her. 

"  I  don't  believe  I  ever  had  anybody  tell  me  such 
things  before,"  she  could  not  restrain  herself  from  say 
ing,  "  and  I  don't  know  whether  I  ought  to  thank  you 
for  your  lack  of  trust  in  me.  However,  you'll  be  there, 
and  I  can  rely  on  your  protection  against  these  awful 
dangers." 

"  I  will  not  be  there,"  contradicted  Graham  bluntly. 

"  Well,  then,  there's  Harry."  She  said  the  name  out 
of  bravado  to  show  that  there  was  no  reason  why  she 
should  not  say  it. 

"  Yes,"  cried  Graham,  with  a  burst  of  anger  that 
astonished  her.  "  It  is  he  I  mean." 

It  was  the  red  flag  to  them  both,  the  idea  of  this 
man.  "  I  think  you'd  better  go  now,"  she  replied 
coldly. 

Graham  turned  away  with  a  little  curse. 

She  sat  down  again  and  tried  desperately  to  regain 
her  confidence  of  a  few  moments  before,  but  it  would 
not  come.  She  was  angry  and  insulted,  and  she  was 
vexed  at  herself  that  she  could  not  throw  off  the  un 
easiness  which  lay  behind  these  emotions ;  but  she 
could  not.  It  grew  on  her  as  her  nervousness  in 
creased.  She  sat  staring  straight  before  her  into  the 
dark,  clasping  and  unclasping  her  hands,  and  striving 
with  all  the  earnestness  of  which  she  was  capable  to 
seize  and  formulate  the  vague  fear  that  seemed  un- 


274  THE    WESTERNERS 

reasonably  to  weigh  on  her  spirits.  Analyze  it  as  she 
would,  she  could  find  no  adequate  reason  for  it.  It  was 
therefore  the  more  terrible.  The  dinner  hour  passed 
quite  unnoticed.  The  nervousness  increased  until  she 
could  have  shrieked  aloud.  And  then  with  a  sudden 
start  she  recognized  it — this  old  formless  causeless 
sense  of  an  indefinite  guilt,  as  for  something  left  un 
done  ;  the  voice,  although  this  she  did  not  know,  of  her 
inherited  New  England  conscience. 

At  the  discovery  she  rebelled.  She  had  always  re 
belled,  and  heretofore  she  had  succeeded  in  putting  it 
down,  in  stifling  it  underneath  mere  surface  moods. 
But  now  the  surface  moods  proved  inadequate.  The 
uneasy  guiltiness  increased  until  it  almost  overflowed 
in  tears.  Molly  was  afraid,  just  as  a  child  is  afraid  of 
the  dark. 

She  lit  the  lamps  and  looked  at  herself  in  the  mirror. 
This  must  not  go  on.  To-night,  the  one  night  when 
she  needed  all  her  powers,  it  was  foolish  to  allow  a 
whim  to  weaken  them.  She  shook  her  head  at  herself 
and  smiled.  The  smile  was  not  a  success.  She  turned 
away  wearily  and  thrust  her  hands  through  her  hair. 
Why  had  Graham  taken  it  into  his  head  to  bother  her 
this  one  evening  of  all  others  ?  It  was  his  fault.  She 
stamped  her  foot  angrily.  All  his  fault.  In  spite  of  his 
denial,  she  believed  he  would  be  there  and  would  see 
everything.  The  thought  stung  her  pride  and  the  de- 
I  sire  for  tears  left  her.  She  would  show  him  just  how 
much  his  advice  and  his  fears  were  worth.  On  the 
impulse  she  spread  her  white  dress  out  on  the  bed,  and 
began  hastily  to  smooth  out  the  wrinkles  in  its  pleats. 
After  a  moment  she  turned  decisively  to  the  mirror, 
and  began  to  take  down  her  hair. 


XXX 

ANCESTRAL   VOICES 

ARCHIBALD  MUDGE,  alias  Frosty,  dressed  in 
a  clean  white  apron,  stood  behind  the  bar  and 
surveyed  his  handiwork  with  satisfaction.     It 
had  gone  well,  and  for  this  one  day  his  master  had  been 
in  an  unwontedly  good  humor. 

Directly  opposite,  a  wide  door  opened  into  the  new 
dance  hall.  From  where  Frosty  stood  one  could  see 
that  it  was  a  long  low  room,  flag-draped,  with  few 
windows,  and  furnished  only  by  an  unbroken  line  of 
benches  against  the  wall.  One  standing  in  the  door 
way,  however,  could  have  perceived  that  at  one  end 
were  placed  for  the  musicians  a  number  of  tall  "  look 
out  "  stools — tall  in  order  that  the  performers  might 
at  once  overlook  the  performance  of  the  square-dance 
"  figures/'  and  early  prepare  to  avoid  possible  hostili 
ties.  A  number  of  large  lamps  with  reflectors  illumi 
nated  the  apartment  with  crossed  shafts  of  light. 

Frosty  polished  glasses  in  anticipation  of  the  even 
ing's  business,  which  would  be  lively,  glancing  com 
placently  from  the  fresh-scrubbed  floor  to  the  lately 
renewed  sheets,  imitating  plaster.  As  the  outer  door 
was  now  closed,  he  was  relieved  from  the  necessity  of 
ejecting  Peter.  It  did  no  good  to  tie  Peter  up :  either 
the  animal  was  ingenious  at  escapes,  or  the  men  were 
mischievous  in  their  desire  to  bother  Frosty.  This  was 
one  of  Frosty's  many  troubles.  He  led  a  life  of  care. 
After  a  little,  the  door  opened,  and  three  men  came 
275 


276  THE   WESTERNERS 

in.  They  steered  to  the  bar  at  once,  as  a  sort  of  famil 
iar  haven  in  strange  surroundings.  From  its  anchorage 
they  took  their  initial  view  of  the  hall.  After  sub 
sequent  arrivals  had  braced  them  to  the  point  of  con 
fidence,  they  made  a  first  awful  tour  of  that  apartment, 
but  soon  returned  to  more  familiar  surroundings.  The 
saloon  filled  with  a  heterogeneous  gathering.  All  types 
were  there  in  their  best  clothes,  from  the  spotlessly 
immaculate  faro  dealer,  dressed  in  a  black  broadcloth 
frock  coat,  to  Dave  Kelly,  with  his  new  red  hand 
kerchief  and  his  high-heeled  boots.  The  main  gather 
ing  remained  crowded  in  the  saloon,  whence  small 
groups  occasionally  ventured  into  the  hall,  but  only  for 
the  purposes  of  temporary  inspection.  A  hum  of  low- 
voiced  talk  went  up,  which  fell  to  expectant  silence 
every  time  the  door  was  opened.  The  musicians  from 
Spanish  Gulch  arrived  and  began  to  tune  up.  They 
were  closely  followed  by  the  first  woman,  a  red- 
cheeked  awkward  country  lass,  who  took  her  position 
on  the  bench  near  one  corner  and  began  at  once  to  dis 
pense  smiles  and  loud  small  talk  to  the  men  who  fol 
lowed  her  there.  The  assistants'  spirits  rose.  They 
had  known  this  girl  as  Sal  Jenks,  of  rather  drab-colored 
disposition  and  appearance.  To-night,  in  the  glamour 
of  a  light-colored  dress  and  the  illumination  of  a  ball 
room,  she  had  suddenly  become  transformed  into 
something  quite  different  and  infinitely  more  attractive. 
The  musicians  played  a  tune.  The  other  women  came 
in,  gayly  dressed  and  accompanied  always  by  a  red- 
faced  swain.  Black  Mike  took  his  stand  at  the  side  of 
Frosty,  and  began  to  assist  that  individual  in  dispens 
ing  drinks.  Black  Mike's  democracy  was  no  small  ele 
ment  of  his  popularity.  At  about  half-past  eight  those 


ANCESTRAL   VOICES  277 

near  the  door  saw  him  talking  with  Cheyenne  Harry. 
A  buzz  swept  over  the  room.  Copper  Creek  had  been 
waiting  in  suppressed  excitement  to  see  whom  Chey 
enne  Harry  would  accompany — Molly  Lafond  or  the 
newcomer — and  lo  !  he  had  come  alone. 

Then,  before  the  astonishment  had  subsided,  the 
outer  door  opened  again  and  Molly  entered,  looking 
very  pale  and  sweet  and  serious. 

She  walked  directly  by  the  bar  into  the  dance  hall, 
where  she  seated  herself  near  the  door  and  looked 
calmly  about  her.  She  was  dressed  entirely  in  white. 
Cheyenne  Harry  was  leaning  over  the  bar  talking  at 
tentively,  so  that  he  was  perhaps  the  only  person  in 
the  room  who  did  not  see  her  come  in.  A  dozen  men 
at  once  surrounded  her  and  began  to  chat.  She  an 
swered  them  good-humoredly  enough,  but  indif 
ferently. 

The  door  once  more  flew  open  and  Bismarck  Anne, 
standing  on  the  sill,  cried  out  in  her  clear,  high  voice, 
"  Well,  boys  ?  "  She  paused  a  moment.  Cheyenne 
Harry,  turning  at  the  sound  of  her  voice,  remembered 
how,  about  a  year  ago,  Molly  Lafond  had  stood  there 
in  just  that  attitude.  But  he  felt  a  great  difference. 

Cheyenne  Harry  had  for  some  time,  as  we  have  said, 
been  growing  a  little  tired  of  his  affair  with  Molly. 
The  mental  ingredients  of  satiety  were  all  present,  but 
he  had  as  yet  received  no  conscious  notice  of  their  ex 
istence.  He  imagined  himself  as  much  fascinated  as 
ever.  If  something  lately  had  seemed  to  lack,  he  had 
laid  it  to  circumstances  and  not  at  all  to  the  state  of  his 
relations  with  the  girl.  But  for  all  that,  the  satiety  had 
been  real.  He  only  needed  to  be  told  of  it  to  realize  it 
himself  very  plainly.  Bismarck  Anne  had  told  him. 


278  THE   WESTERNERS 

He  saw  now  absolutely  no  attraction  for  himself  in 
Molly  Lafond,  and  that  without  attempting  to  deny 
her  intrinsic  attraction  for  others.  He  simply  did  not 
care  for  her  any  more.  It  seemed  perhaps  like  a  sud 
den  revulsion,  but  it  was  not  so  really;  it  had  been 
inevitable  from  the  very  first,  and  from  the  very  first 
it  had  been  slowly  maturing.  Not  even  the  results  were 
sudden  :  only  Cheyenne  Harry's  knowledge  of  them. 

He  had  always  felt  his  relations  with  Molly  Lafond 
as  more  or  less  restrictive,  because  the  good  is  always 
so.  He  had  dimly  caught  the  truth  that,  without  a 
deep  moral  incentive,  restriction  is  always  irksome; 
that  although  pure  love  is  the  most  ideal  condition  in 
the  world,  its  simulation  is  the  most  wearisome  after 
the  novelty  has  worn  off ;  and  all  the  rest  of  the  long 
psychological  train  of  emotion  and  reasoning  common 
to  the  trifler.  But  now  for  the  first  time  he  knew  it. 
He  knew  it  because,  standing  in  the  doorway,  looking 
at  him  with  bold  black  eyes,  was  the  exact  opposite  of 
all  this,  and  he  recognized  a  mighty  relief. 

Bismarck  Anne  knew  enough  to  dress  all  in  black. 
She  had  the  taste  to  appreciate  the  effect  of  one  red 
flower  in  her  hair  as  her  only  ornament.  She  had  the 
sense  to  wear  her  dress  cut  neither  too  k>w  above  nor 
too  high  below.  And  so  she  was  exceedingly  hand 
some  as  she  stood  there,  the  devil  of  excitement  in  her 
eyes. 

Cheyenne  Harry  abruptly  ceased  his  conversation 
with  Lafond  to  shake  hands  with  her.  They  turned 
in  company.  Harry  linked  his  arm  through  hers,  and 
they  entered  the  dance  hall  close  together,  and  took 
their  seats  in  a  corner  far  removed  from  the  musicians, 
where  they  continued  engaged  in  such  earnest  con- 


ANCESTRAL   VOICES  279 

versation  that  none  of  the  men  ventured  to  approach 
them.  After  a  time,  when  the  music  struck  up  for  the 
first  dance,  she  seemed  to  be  commanding  something 
to  which  Cheyenne  Harry  seemed  to  be  objecting. 
Then  the  latter  arose  slowly  and  asked  Molly  Lafond 
to  dance  the  first  dance  with  him.  She  accepted 
with  a  sharp  pang  at  her  heart.  The  newcomer  had 
scored. 

Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  the  gentler  sex,  it  had  been 
decided  that  no  one  "  set  "  was  to  be  blessed  with  more 
than  one  girl.  Thus  they  would  go  around  better. 
Molly,  glancing  across  at  her  rival,  saw  that  she  was 
surrounded  by  a  laughing  group  of  men.  The  woman 
was  joking  broadly  at  each,  wriggling  her  white 
shoulders,  darting  side  glances,  half  promising,  half 
denying.  In  a  moment  the  group  broke,  and  the  mem 
bers  of  it  rushed  in  her  own  direction.  They  were 
already  quarrelling  for  places  in  her  set.  The  matter 
was  arranged  somehow  after  much  wrangling.  Then, 
too  late,  Molly  saw  that  the  other  woman  had  scored 
again.  Bismarck  Anne  had  not  only  selected  her  part 
ner,  but  also  the  other  six  members  of  the  set.  Thus 
she  had  made  seven  men  happy  and  none  jealous. 

A  Western  dance  is  a  sight  worth  seeing.  The 
musicians  call  off  the  figures.  The  head  fiddler  does 
it  until  his  voice  gives  out.  Then  the  second  fiddler 
and  the  accordion  take  a  try  at  it,  after  which  further 
calling  is  unnecessary  owing  to  the  fact  that  most  of 
the  dancers  are  very  drunk.  This  comes  to  pass  be 
cause,  at  the  end  of  each  dance,  all  are  supposed  to  visit 
the  bar.  The  most  heinous  crime,  next  to  horse  steal 
ing  or  sluice  robbing,  is  "  shying  drinks  "  at  such 
times.  As  some  men  can  hold  more  than  others  this 


280  THE   WESTERNERS 

enforced  equality  of  quantity  consumed  brings  about 
unexpected  variation  in  the  hilarity  of  the  consumers, 
all  of  which  adds  to  the  variety  of  the  occasion. 

The  interims  between  drinks  are  occupied  by  square 
dances.  The  men  go  through  some  set  of  monkey 
shines  which  they  call  figures,  the  principal  object  of 
which  seems  to  be  at  once  the  tripping  up  of  such  male 
and  the  prolonged  s-queezing  of  such  female  dancers  as 
they  may  come  into  intimate  personal  relations  with 
on  their  grand  rounds,  which  is  conducive  to  hilarity 
of  the  loud-mouthed  variety.  The  exercise  itself  is 
rather  violent,  and  as  the  room  is  low,  lit  by  lamps, 
and  comparatively  windowless,  the  air  soon  becomes 
heavy  with  the  reek  of  perspiration  and  the  fumes  of 
tobacco.  The  floor  acquires  a  heaving  motion  and  the 
lights  sway  back  and  forth.  The  homeliest  of  the 
dance-hall  girls  somehow  looks  like  a  fairy  through  the 
haze — a  rather  elusive  fairy,  with  a  rather  heavy  un- 
fairylike  gait.  At  this  period  there  is  usually  a  good 
deal  of  noise.  Then  all  at  once  it  is  morning,  and  some 
how  the  scene  has  changed  to  the  ravine,  and  there  is 
a  tomato  can  poking  itself  into  the  small  of  the  back. 

Molly  tripped  gracefully  and  easily  through  the 
figures  of  the  opening  dance,  seeming  scarcely  to  touch 
the  floor.  Bismarck  Anne  leaned  heavily  on  each  man 
in  the  swing,  and  pressed  her  bosom  against  his  arm. 
Twice  she  half  slipped  and  caught  by  the  shoulder  of 
her  partner  of  the  moment,  and  her  breath  was  hot 
against  his  throat.  She  said  not  one  word  the  whole 
dance  through. 

With  the  last  quaver  of  the  fiddle  came  the  harsh 
command — 

"  S'lute  yore  pardners !    All  promenade  to  th'  bar !  " 


\ 
ANCESTRAL   VOICES  281 

They  obeyed.  The  sets  went  in  two  by  two,  the 
men  treating  their  masculine  partners  with  humorous 
politeness  in  the  matter  of  assistance  in  crossing  the 
sill  of  the  door.  The  non-dancers  crowded  after  them 
in  a  confused  mob. 

At  the  bar  Frosty  had  the  drinks  all  ready  on  the 
back  shelf.  Black  Mike  assisted  him,  and  together 
the  two,  their  sleeves  rolled  back  and  their  faces  glisten 
ing  with  the  sweat  of  honest  toil,  passed  over  brim 
ming  little  glasses  of  "  forty  rod  "  and  jingled  two-bit 
pieces  into  the  drawer.  Bismarck  Anne  drank  with 
the  best  of  them,  leaning  familiarly  against  the  men 
nearest  her,  bandying  jokes  that  were  more  than 
doubtful.  Molly  sat  on  her  corner  of  the  bar  but  did 
not  drink. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  next  dance  the  aspect  of 
things  was  a  trifle  changed.  A  bigger  crowd  gathered 
about  Bismarck  Anne  soliciting  places  in  her  set,  and 
it  was  more  familiar.  Some  one  snatched  a  kiss  of 
her.  She  merely  laughed  and  pushed  him  away. 
There  seemed  to  have  suddenly  sprung  up  between 
them  and  her  a  camaraderie  in  which  Molly  had  no  part, 
as  though  they  and  the  newcomer  had  some  secret  to 
keep  to  themselves  which  thrust  the  younger  girl  with 
out  the  circle. 

Cheyenne  Harry  did  not  come  near  her  again.  He 
seemed  wholly  fascinated  by  the  stranger.  The  sight 
of  his  attentions  to  the  other' aroused  Molly.  A  bright 
red  spot  burned  in  either  cheek.  She  was  all  anima 
tion.  Her  laughter  rang  true,  her  eyes  flashed  with 
merriment.  For  every  one  she  had  a  joke,  a  half- 
tender,  half-sympathetic  aside.  She  saw  that  as  long 
as  they  were  in  her  actual  presence  the  men  were 


282  THE   WESTERNERS 

wholly  hers.  And  yet  she  felt  too  the  subtle  growth 
of  this  other  woman's  influence,  and  realized  t*hat 
eventually  it  would  beat  her  down.  In  spite  of  her 
brave  appearance  her  throat  choked  her.  Only  by  a 
great  concentration  of  the  will  could  she  prevent  her 
self  from  lapsing  into  silence,  and  then  into  tears.  As 
the  strain  began  to  tell  on  her  nerves,  the  old  feeling 
of  unknowable  guilt  came  to  oppress  her  heart,  and 
with  it  a  growing  longing  to  get  away,  to  hide  some 
where  ;  to  begin  all  over  again  humbly,  below  the  low 
est  ;  to  claim  nothing,  to  attempt  nothing,  to  do  noth 
ing  in  opposition  to  that  accusing  Thought  which 
seemed  greater  than  herself.  All  at  once  she  was  tired 
of  struggling.  She  was  ready  to  give  up  this  life,  if 
only  they  would  let  her  feel  like  something  besides  a 
breathless  naughty  child,  fearfully  expecting  every  mo 
ment  the  grave  reproving  voice  of  the  Master. 

She  chided  herself  for  this.  It  was  not  game.  Pluck 
she  admired  above  everything ;  and  yet  here  she  was, 
ready  to  run  away  at  the  first  taste  of  defeat.  She 
smiled  ravishingly  on  Dave  Kelly,  until  he  began  to 
speculate  on  the  possibility  of  repeating  that  delicious 
experience  which  Peter  had  so  inopportunely  cut 
short. 

As  the  evening  progressed,  the  "  forty  rod  "  began 
to  show  its  effects.  Williams  had  to  have  the  full  width 
of  the  floor  whenever  he  tried  to  walk,  and  his  en 
thusiastic  imitations  of  an  angry  catamount  were  most 
creditable.  Some  one  was  always  disgustedly  repress 
ing  him.  Several  others  were  in  like  condition  with 
different  symptoms.  The  soberest  manifested  in 
creased  vigor  of  limb  and  fertility  of  imagination.  A 
happy  combination  of  these  two  effects  brought  about 


ANCESTRAL  VOICES  283 

tKe  proposal  of  a  turkey  walk.  A  ring  was  formed  on 
the  instant. 

Into  the  ring  two  men,  chosen  viva  voce,  were 
pushed.  They  began  at  once  to  strut  back  and  forth 
like  turkey  cocks  in  the  spring.  They  hollowed  their 
backs  in,  stuck  their  chests  and  rumps  out,  slapped 
their  thighs,  toed  in,  puffed  their  cheeks,  ducked  their 
heads,  uttered  sundry  gurgling  whoops,  and  hopped 
about,  first  on  one  foot,  then  on  the  other  in  a  charm 
ingly,  impartial  imitation  of  a  Southern  cake  walk  and 
a  Sioux  Indian  war  dance.  These  performances  tick 
led  the  crowd  immensely.  When  it  came  to  noisy 
vote  on  the  relative  merits  of  the  performers,  it  vocif 
erously  shouted  unanimous  approval  of  all.  Therefore 
the  contest  was  pronounced  a  tie.  At  this  moment 
Dave  Williams  staggered  forward.  His  muddled  brain 
had  room  for  only  the  most  evident  facts.  He  saw  the 
ring  and  his  drunken  shrewdness  had  retained  cogni 
zance  of  the  evening's  rivalry.  He  mixed  the  two  ideas 
up  to  effect  a  proposal. 

"  Hyar,"  he  shouted,  "  lesh  do  this  ri' !  I  secon'  Bis 
marck  Anne  !  "  He  let  out  a  wild-cat  yell — "  Whe-ee ! ! 
Two  t*  one  on  Anne !  " 

Some  one  hit  him  on  tiie  chest  and  sent  him  stag 
gering  backward.  He  gyrated  unevenly  toward  the 
corner,  stumbled  over  his  own  feet,  and  sat  down  heav 
ily  on  the  floor,  where  after  feeling  vainly  for  his  gun 
he  relapsed  into  good  humor.  But  his  suggestion  hit 
the  popular  fancy. 

The  idea  ran  like  fire.  In  a  second  the  ring  was 
formed  again.  Those  in  front  knelt;  those  behind 
looked  over  their  shoulders.  'Even  Frosty  and  Black 
Mike  deserted  the  bar  and  stood  leaning  in  the  door- 


284  THE   WESTERNERS 

way.  The  girls  were  urged  forward  into  the  ring, 
which  closed  after  them,  and  the  music  was  ordered 
to  proceed. 

Bismarck  Anne  walked  calmly  into  the  circle  and 
stood  looking  about  her.  Molly  had  an  instant  of 
doubt.  Then  a  revulsion  against  her  easy  surrender 
got  her  to  her  feet  and  into  the  ring.  The  gauntlet 
was  down.  She  would  accept  the  challenge.  It  was  a 
duel. 

There  was  a  moment's  squabble  between  two  self- 
appointed  officials  in  regard  to  precedence.  It  was 
settled,  and  Molly  was  beckoned  to  begin.  The  fiddles 
started  up  a  squeaky,  lively  air  to  which  the  men  kept 
time  with  hands  and  feet.  The  young  girl,  her  cheeks 
burning,  stepped  into  the  centre  of  the  ring  and  struck 
the  first  graceful  pose  of  the  cachncha,  learned  years  be 
fore  at  the  Agency  from  a  little  Mexican  serving-maid. 
The  men  recognized  it  in  a  swift  quickly  silenced  burst. 
The  fiddles  changed  their  measure  to  suit  the  dance. 

The  cachitcha  is  a  beautiful  dance  when  rightly  done. 
It  is  a  combination  of  airy  half-steps,  sinuous  body 
movements,  and  slow  languorous  and  graceful  weav- 
ings  of  the  arms.  It  has  in  it  all  the  enchantment  of 
the  lazy  South.  There  is  not  an  abrupt  movement  in  it, 
but  one  pose  melts  into  another  as  imperceptibly  as 
night  into  day.  Molly  did  it  well.  Her  supple  figure 
was  suited  to  it,  and  the  very  refinement  of  her  actions 
enhanced  the  charm  of  the  dance.  The  men  applauded 
vehemently  when  she  stopped.  The  other  woman 
laughed  aloud  in  scorn. 

With  a  final  sweeping  curtsy  the  dancer  turned  to 
go.  The  flush  of  triumph  and  excitement  burned  on 
her  cheeks  and  in  her  eyes.  Finding  the  ring  solidly 


ANCESTRAL  VOICES  285 

closed  so  that  exit  was  impossible,  she  accepted  a  seat 
on  the  knee  of  one  of  those  in  the  front  rank.  The 
man  put  his  arms  around  her  and  drew  her  close  in  a 
drunken  embrace,  which  the  girl  only  half  noticed. 

Bismarck  Anne  sprang  to  the  centre  of  the  ring  at 
one  bound,  the  sneer  still  on  her  lips.  She  turned 
abruptly  to  the  musicians. 

"  Quit  that  damn  stuff !  "  she  snarled.  "  Play 
somethin' !  " 

The  musicians  hurriedly  swung  into  a  lively  air. 

Bismarck  Anne's  dance  was  not  especially  grace 
ful.  It  consisted  mainly  of  high  kicks  and  a  certain 
athletic  feat  known  as  the  split.  But  it  was  magnificent 
in  its  abandon,  and  fierce  in  the  crude  animal  energy 
of  it.  Besides  its  mere  suggestiveness  and  appeal  to 
the  passions,  it  had  too  a  swing,  a  fire,  a  brute-like 
force  which  could  not  but  hit  to  the  hearts  of  men  at 
bottom  strong,  crude,  and  savage.  They  went  crazy. 
They  shouted  encouraging  things  at  her  with  open 
straining  throats.  They  stamped  and  cheered  until  the 
lights  wavered.  They  clapped  each  other  delightedly 
on  the  back.  And  Bismarck  Anne  danced  ever  the 
more  furiously.  She  kicked  with  enthusiasm,  with 
abandon,  holding  her  short  skirts  still  higher  to  gain 
the  greater  freedom.  The  tiger-lily  fell  from  her  head 
and  was  snatched  up  almost  before  it  touched  the  floor. 
Her  heavy  black  hair  came  down,  and  hung  in  strands 
across  her  face,  and  fell  in  vivid  contrast  upon  her 
white  shoulders  and  her  heaving  bosom.  She  shook 
it  back  with  a  savage  movement. 

And  she  in  the  corner,  who  was  nothing  but  a 
woman,  with  little  of  the  savage  in  her  to  appeal  to 
savage  men,  and,  for  all  her  independence,  little  of  this 


286  THE   WESTERNERS 

bold  reckless  spirit  of  the  frontier  in  her  to  appeal  to 
pioneers,  felt  herself  growing  sick  and  faint  as  she  saw 
these  greater  forces  slipping  beyond  her  control  roar- 
ingly,  as  would  a  mountain  torrent.  Her  rule  was 
•over,  and  this  woman's  had  begun.  The  room  swayed 
before  her  eyes.  Some  one  behind  her  handed  a  brim 
ming  glass  of  whisky  over  her  shoulder,  and  she  seized 
it  eagerly  and  gulped  it  down. 

The  unaccustomed  stimulant  cleared  her  vision. 
The  room  stood  still,  the  different  objects  in  it  became 
distinct.  She  looked  on  the  whirling  figure  of  the 
-woman  in  the  centre,  the  open-mouth  turmoil-stirred 
crowd  in  the  background,  with  dispassionate  eyes.  She 
was  deadly  cool.  To  her  memory  came  Graham's 
•words  of  that  same  afternoon.  "  Because  you  are  too 
good  for  them! "  She  remembered  the  very  emphasis 
•of  his  tone.  Well,  he  was  right,  and  yet  not  right.  She 
had  been  too  good  for  them,  but  she  would  show  them 
now !  With  the  sudden  flash  of  resolve,  the  first  un 
natural  hardening  effect  of  the  whisky  passed,  and  in 
a  whirl  the  exhilaration  came.  She  laughed  and  re 
sponded  convulsively  to  the  man's  embrace. 

Bismarck  Anne  gave  a  final  kick,  and  fell  in  some 
one's  open  arms.  The  men,  shouting  frantically,  began 
to  stir  preparatory  to  regaining  their  feet.  Then  they 
sank  back  again  with  a  fresh  cheer.  Into  the  centre  of 
the  ring  Molly  tripped  unsteadily,  and  stood  for  a  mo 
ment  looking  about  her  with  uncertain  foolishly  smil 
ing  eyes.  Her  cheeks  were  a  glow  of  red.  She  glanced 
toward  the  musicians,  and,  with  the  tip  of  her  fingers, 
raised  her  dress  to  her  knees,  waiting  for  the  music  to 
begin. 

The  room  was  deadly  still.    She  could  see,  looking 


ANCESTRAL   VOICES  287 

at  her  excitedly,  all  the  men  she  had  met  and  come  to 
know  in  the  last  year.  She  saw  them  dimly,  as  through 
a  haze.  Would  the  music  never  begin?  What  were 
they  waiting  for  ?  A  draught  blew  cold  along  the  floor. 
She  felt  it  on  her  legs.  Why  was  it  ?  Oh,  yes,  she  was 
holding  her  skirts  up  to  dance,  to  show  them  that  she 
was  no  better  than  this  woman,  Bismarck  Anne. 

And  then  the  black  cloud  that  had  been  gathering 
so  long,  the  undefined  guilty  feeling  at  nothing,  broke 
over  her.  She  wanted  to  go  on — the  music  had  begun 
now — but  she  could  not.  Twice  she  tried.  Some 
thing  held  .her,  something  real,  something  stronger 
than  herself.  She  did  not  recognize  them,  these  ances 
tral  voices,  but  they  laid  upon  her  their  commands. 
She  dropped  her  skirts,  and  covered  her  eyes  with  her 
two  hands,  and  burst  through  the  ring  of  men,  and  ran 
out  through  the  night  to  her  own  cabin,  where  she 
threw  herself  on  her  bed  weeping  bitterly.  She  was 
ashamed. 


XXXI 

LAFOND'S   FIRST   CARD 

LAFOND,  in  the  meantime,  had  left  the  dispen* 
sation  of  drinks  almost  entirely  to  Frosty.  He 
darted  here  and  there  in  the  crowd,  a  light  of  un 
wonted  excitement  in  his  eye. 

"  That  thar  Mike's  shore  waked  up,"  commented 
Old  Mizzou.  "  Never  see  him  so  plumb  animated.  He 
shore  looks  nutty.  Dance  halls  is  mostly  too  rich  fer 
his  blood,  I  reckon." 

But  Tony  Houston  and  Jack  Snowie  and  a  dozen 
others  by  now  knew  better  than  to  attribute  this  ex 
citement  to  dance  halls.  Lafond  possessed  in  his 
pocket  a  copy  of  Knapp's  dismissal,  and  he  had  told 
them  of  it. 

He  told  them  of  it  mysteriously,  in  half-limits,  point 
ing  out  tendencies  and  solutions  to  what  they  already 
knew,  leaving  them  to  draw  deductions,  sowing  anxie 
ties  that  there  might  spring  up  a  harvest  of  distrust. 

Through  the  woof  of  gayety  he  rapidly  ran  a  dull 
thread  of  angry  suspicion.  Men  made  merry,  and  for 
got  all  the  past  and  all  the  future.  Other  men  talked 
low-voiced  in  corners,  and  tried,  from  the  distraction 
of  drink  and  gayety,  to  draw  clear  plan  and  reflection. 
And  always  Lafond  took  other  men  aside  and  whis 
pered  eager  little  half-confidences,  and  went  on  quickly 
to  the  next. 

His  spirit  was  upheld  by  a  great  excitement,  such 
as  it  had  never  experienced  before,  not  even  in  his 

288 


LA10NDS   FIRST   CARD          289 

early  and  adventurous  days.  He  seemed  to  himself  to 
be  mounting  higher  and  higher  on  the  summit  of  a 
great  wave  of  luck,  as  a  swimmer  is  lifted  by  the  sea. 
And  yet,  behind  it  all,  again  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  he  felt  a  portent  in  the  air.  It  was  as  though  the 
wave  were  rearing  itself,  only  to  curl  over  and  break 
upon  the  shore.  He  laid  this  to  nervousness,  and  yet 
it  affected  him  with  a  certain  superstitious  awe. 

So  occupied  was  he,  that  he  quite  missed  the  girl's 
sudden  exit,  and  was  drawn  from  his  brown  study 
only  by  the  sudden  hush  that  succeeded  it.  In  the  si 
lence  a  drunken  voice  uplifted  itself  loudly. 

"  M'  work  'sh  done,"  it  vociferated.     "  I  wan'  m* 

pay!" 

Everybody  turned,  prepared  to  laugh  at  this  "  comic 
relief !  "  Jack  Snowie  was  addressing  Billy  Knapp. 
Billy  at  once  became  conscious  of  an  audience,  and  the 
usual  desire  to  appear  well  seized  him.  He  smiled  with 
the  good-humored  tolerance  of  a  drunken  man. 

"  I  suppose  you  want  me  to  take  it  right  out  of  my 
pants  pocket,  eh,  Jack  ?  "  he  inquired  paternally.  "  Of 
co'se  you  wants  yo'  pay  !  Come  around  in  th'  mornin* 
an'  get  it."  He  smiled  again  at  the  group  that  sur 
rounded  him.  It  appeared  to  be  listening  to  this  col 
loquy  with  unusual  interest. 

"  I  wan'  m'  pay !  "  reiterated  Snowie  sullenly,  but 
then  apparently  lost  the  thread  of  his  ideas  and  lurched 
away.  Billy  considered  the  incident  closed.  He  was 
mistaken.  The  group  did  not  dissolve  ;  it  came  closer. 
The  men  had  a  strangely  unfriendly  look  about  the 
eyes.  Billy  did  not  understand  it.  He  stepped  toward 
one  side  of  the  circle  about  him.  It  closed  the  tighter 
to  keep  him  in. 


290  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  What's  the  joke,  boys  ?  "  he  asked,  still  smiling. 

The  room  was  breathlessly  still.  Many  of  those 
within  it  did  not  understand  the  trouble,  but  trouble 
was  in  the  air.  Across  a  wavering  line  of  heat  could 
be  dimly  discerned  the  musicians,  poised  to  start  the 
next  dance,  but  uncertain  whether  or  not  to  begin. 
They  did  not  begin.  The  silence  was  startled  even  by 
Peter's  doggy  yawn  from  the  far  corner  of  the  saloon 
proper. 

"  Ain't  no  joke !  "  "  That's  what  we  want  to 
know !  "  "  Damned  poor  joke  !  "  "  You'll  find  out 
soon  enough !  "  cried  the  men  angrily,  and  then  paused 
and  looked  at  each  other  because  of  the  jostle  of  words 
that  meant  nothing. 

Billy  flushed  slowly,  and  his  jaw  settled  into  place. 

"  I'm  jest  as  willin'  to  play  '  horse  '  as  anybody,"  he 
said,  trying  to  find  calm  utterance ;  "  and  if  this  is  a 
joke,  I  wishes  some  fellow-citizen  to  let  me  in.  But, 
damn  it ! "  he  cried  in  a  burst,  "  don't  you  get  to/3 
funny !  What  the  hell  does  you-all  want  me  to  do  to 
carry  out  this  yere  witticism,  anyway  ?  " 

The  coolest  and  most  determined  looking  man  in 
the  group  made  two  steps  across  the  floor,  and  con 
fronted  Billy  squarely.  At  this  evidence  of  earnest 
ness,  Billy  lost  his  excitement  and  became  deadly  cool. 

"  Oh,  it's  you,  Tony  Houston,  is  it !  Do  you  want 
your  pay  too  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  replied  the  man,  "  and  I'm  going  to 
have  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Billy,  "  here's  a  pretty-lookin'  outfit ! 
Snowie  was  drunk,  but  this  gang  's  sober  enough  to 
know  better,  anyway.  You  come  around  to  my  office 
in  the  mornin',  and  I  pays  the  bunch,  every  damn 


LAFOND'S   FIRST   CARD          291 

skunk,  and  don't  you  ever  any  of  you  show  your  faces 
there  again.  That's  all  I  got  to  say." 

"  It  ain't  all  /  got  to  say,"  retorted  Houston,  stand 
ing  his  ground  doggedly,  "  not  by  a  long  shot !  You- 
all  talks  well,  but  has  you  got  th'  money  ?  " 

"  What  the "  cried  Billy,  choking. 

"  Hoi'  on  thar !  I  repeats  it  " — and  Houston  thrust 
his  face  at  Billy  evilly — "  has  you  got  th'  money  ? 
That's  a  fa'r  question  in  business,  I  reckons.  Has  you 
got  th'  money  ?  No,  you  hasn't.  You  got  just  an  hun 
dred  and  fifty-two  dollars,  and  that's  every  red  cent 
you  has  got." 

Billy's  immediate  act  of  homicide  was  checked  by 
this  astounding  knowledge  of  the  total  of  his  bank 
account.  "  Damn  you,  Tony  Houston,"  he  said  slowly, 
at  last,  "  I  believe  you're  drunk  too.  You  come  in  the 
mornin'  and  get  paid,  an'  you'll  find  yore  money  comes 
along  all  right.  This  is  a  hell  of  a  gang,"  he  went  on 
with  contempt,  "  a  hell  of  a  gang !  I  gets  you  a  job 
that  lasts  you  all  winter,  and  you  wants  your  damn 
money  in  a  dance  hall  and  raises  a  row  because  I  ain't 
carryin'  a  few  thousan'  dollars  in  each  pants  pocket. 
Don'  think  you  makes  anythin'  by  it.  I  lays  myself 
out  from  now  on  to  see  that  yore  little  two  by  four 
prospect  holes  ain't  worth  th'  powder  to  blow  'em  up, 
and  I  reckon  I  has  a  little  influence  as  superintendent 
of  this  game." 

"  Superintendent  ?  "  cried  Houston,  and  the  men 
about  laughed  loudly. 

Billy  was  plainly  even  more  bewildered  than  angry. 
He  considered  the  crowd  all,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  plum' 
locoed  " ;  but  his  passions,  never  of  the  most  peaceful, 
were  rising.  In  another  moment  he  would  have 


292  THE   WESTERNERS 

knocked  Houston  down  and  drawn  his  gun  on  the 
crowd  which  surrounded  him,  but  that  Michail  Lafond 
shoved  his  way  through  the  press.  Billy  caught  sight 
of  him  with  relief.  Besides  the  plain  bare  fact  of  a  row, 
the  situation  was  complicated  by  the  presence  of  so 
great  an  audience,  before  whom  Billy  naturally  wished 
to  conduct  the  affair  correctly. 

"What  is  the  trouble?  Here,  this  won't  do!" 
cried  Black  Mike,  as  though  in  the  capacity  of  pro 
prietor  preserving  the  respectability  of  his  establish 
ment. 

"  That's  what  I  wants  to  know,"  cried  Billy.  "  This 
(sulphurous)  outfit  of  ranikaboo  ijits  has  gone  plum' 
locoed,  and  they  stan's  around  yere  howlin'  for  tha'r 
money  as  though  I  carries  th'  Philadelphy  mint  in  my 
clothes !  " 

Lafond  did  not  reply.  He  motioned  the  men  aside, 
and,  with  the  utmost  gentleness,  led  the  wondering 
Billy  to  a  far  corner  of  the  room. 

"  I'm  sorry  that  I  have  this  to  do,  Billy,"  said  La- 
fond.  "  I  don't  want  to.  It's  none  of  my  lay-out.  But 
these  men  of  yours  sent  them  to  me  because  I  am 
notary  public  and  I  must  do  it." 

Billy  did  not  understand,  but  he  caught  the  apology 
in  Lafond's  tone. 

"That's  all  right,  old  man,"  he  assured  the  latter, 
moistening  his  lips. 

Without  further  preamble,  the  half-breed  drew  some 
papers  from  his  breast  pocket,  and  handed  them  to 
Billy. 

The  first  was  a  review  of  the  work  done  on  the 
Great  Snake  group  of  claims,  and  a  detailed  analysis 
of  it,  carried  out  with  astounding  minuteness  of  techni- 


LAFOND'S   FIRST   CARD          293 

cal  knowledge  for  one  so  ignorant  of  mining  as 
Stevens.  It  outlined  also  the  work  that  should  have 
been  done ;  and  it  ended  with  a  general  conclusion  of 
incompetence.  The  second  contained  his  formal  dis 
missal  as  superintendent.  The  third  returned  Billy's 
shares  as  his  portion  in  the  Company's  dissolution, 
said  Company  having  dissolved  without  assets. 

Billy  sat  very  quietly  and  read  the  papers  over  three 
times,  while  his  fellow  townsmen  stood  silent  and 
watched  him.  The  first  perusal  bewildered  him,  and 
turned  him  sick  at  heart  with  disappointment  and  rec 
ognition  of  the  estimate  in  which  men  held  him.  The 
second  brought  to  his  consciousness  that  his  com 
panions  were  regarding  him  ;  and  that,  in  turn,  caused 
him  to  realize  that  his  prestige  was  crumbled,  his  in 
tegrity  dishonored,  his  abilities  belittled.  The  third 
impressed  on  him  the  desperate  straits  in  which  he 
found  himself — without  money,  holding  a  doubtful  in 
terest  in  claims  whose  bad  name  was  by  this  established 
so  firmly  that  no  Eastern  capital  would  ever  take  hold 
of  them  again,  the  moral  if  not  legal  debtor  to  these 
men  who  had  worked  all  winter  for  him.  The  iron 
turned  in  his  soul.  Michaiil  Lafond,  sitting  there  in 
the  role  of  sympathizer,  was  well  satisfied  with  his 
handiwork.  For  the  moment,  Billy  Knapp  was  a 
broken  man. 

He  arose  slowly,  and  passed  out  of  the  door  in  the 
dead  silence  of  those  about  him. 

After  his  exit,  the  dance  was  forgotten  and  an  ear 
nest  discussion  raged.  It  was  no  light  matter.  Eleven 
men  had  invested  heavily  in  powder,  fuse,  drills,  and 
windlasses  for  the  purpose  of  fulfilling  their  contract 
with  Knapp;  and  they,  and  twenty-two  others,  had 


294  THE   WESTERNERS 

put  in  their  time  for  a  number  of  months.  Many  of 
them  owed  for  board  or  materials.  Others,  though  out 
of  debt,  had  spent  nearly  all  their  ready  cash.  They 
all  seemed  desperately  close  to  bankruptcy,  for  Lafond 
said  nothing  whatever  respecting  his  agreement  to  pay 
the  contracts  himself.  And  then  again,  as  has  been 
pointed  out,  the  well-being  of  the  whole  camp  had  de 
pended  intimately  on  the  success  of  its  big  mine,  for 
the  success  of  one  enterprise  like  the  Great  Snake 
draws  other  capital  to  the  district,  rendering  possible 
the  sale  of  claims ;  while  its  failure  always  gives  a  bad 
name  to  a  whole  section. 

So  the  ensuing  discussion  had  plenty  of  interest  for 
everybody.  Lafond,  as  the  bearer  of  the  tidings,  was 
besieged  with  questions.  He  was  reluctant,  but  he 
answered.  Besides,  the  facts  were  plain,  ready  for  in 
terpretation.  Nobody  could  help  seeing  that  it  was  all 
Billy's  fault.  After  a  time,  poor  Billy  loomed  large  as 
a  symbol  of  all  the  camp's  misfortune.  After  a  little 
time  more,  when  the  bar  had  more  thoroughly  done  its 
work,  a  number  became  possessed  of  a  desire  to  abate 
Billy. 

They  seized  torches  and  a  rope,  ran  up  the  gulch, 
and  beat  in  the  door  of  the  office,  only  to  encounter 
Billy  enraged  to  the  point  of  frenzy.  That  individual 
rushed  them  out  at  the  muzzle  of  a  pistol,  with  such 
a  whirl  of  impetuous  anger  that  it  quite  carried  them 
off  their  feet,  after  which  he  planted  his  back  against 
the  building  and  stood  there  in  the  full  light  of  the 
torches,  reviling  them.  Why  he  was  not  shot  I  cannot 
tell.  Billy  was  something  of  a  dominant  spirit  when 
roused.  That  was  the  reason  why,  in  the  old  days,  he 
had  made  such  a  good  scout.  After  he  had  called  them 
all  the  names  he  could  think  of,  he  slammed  the  dooi 


LAFOND'S   FIRST   CARD          295 

on  them.  They  went  away  without  knowing  why  they 
did  so. 

When  they  got  back  to  town,  they  gathered  again 
in  the  Little  Nugget  saloon,  drinking,  swearing,  shout 
ing.  The  morale  of  the  camp  was  broken.  It  was  a 
debauch.  They  cried  out  against  Billy,  and  they 
feared  him  for  the  moment.  They  made  a  stable-boy 
hide  in  the  brush  with  a  bottle  of  whisky,  to  watch  the 
works,  to  spy  on  they  knew  not  what.  Lafond  drank 
with  them.  He  had  never  done  so  before.  As  they 
became  more  noisy,  he  fell  into  a  sullen  fit,  and  went  to 
sit  over  behind  the  stove  where  he  crooned  away  to 
himself  an  old  chanson.  He  stopped  drinking,  but  the 
effects  remained.  It  seemed  to  his  befogged  mind  that 
the  wave  had  broken  and  that  he  was  falling  through 
the  air.  Shortly  he  would  be  cast  up  against  the  beach. 
•'  A  fool  for  luck !  "  he  muttered  to  himself,  trying  to 
rehabilitate  his  denuded  confidence.  He  took  out  the 
Company's  letter  to  him,  saying  that  the  deeds  were  at 
Rapid  awaiting  his  action,  and  read  it.  Then  he  put 
a  stick  of  wood  on  the  fire.  He  shivered  and  rubbed 
his  eyes.  Finally  he  went  over  to  the  hotel,  where  he 
washed  his  head  again  and  again  in  cold  water.  After 
a  time,  he  returned  to  the  Little  Nugget,  feeling  some 
what  better. 

It  was  now  daylight,  although  the  sun  was  not  up. 
The  stable-boy  -came  in  from  the  upper  gulch  to  say 
that  Billy  Knapp  was  hitching  his  horses  to  the  buck- 
board.  The  news  sobered  them  somewhat.  Ten  min 
utes  later,  the  stable-boy  again  returned  with  the  news 
that  Knapp  had  loaded  his  buckboard,  and  was  on  the 
point  of  driving  through  town.  A  dozen  men  at  once 
ran  out  into  the  street  and  concealed  themselves  be 
hind  the  corners  of  buildings. 


XXXII 

iN   WHICH   THERE   IS   SOME   SHOOTING 

BILLY  sat  in  a  chair  and  boiled.  He  did  not 
calm  down  until  after  daylight,  and  then  he  found 
that  his  depression  had  vanished.  He  was  full 
of  vigor.  He  went  out  and  looked  over  the  property 
very  carefully.  The  entire  lay-out,  he  found,  had 
weighed  on  his  spirits,  and  this  last  ungrateful  episode 
had  made  him  sick  of  the  whole  miserable  business. 
He  ought  never  to  be  tied  down.  He  could  see  his 
mistake  clearly  enough  now.  If  he  was  going  to  stick 
to  gold  hunting,  it  ought  to  be  as  a  prospector,  not  as 
a  miner.  A  prospector  enjoyed  the  delight  of  new 
country,  of  wilderness  life,  of  the  chase,  and  then,  when 
civilization  came  too  near,  he  could  sell  his  claims  to 
the  miner  and  move  on  to  a  virgin  country.  A  miner, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  to  settle  down  in  one  place  and 
attend  to  all  manner  of  vexatious  details.  Billy  felt  a 
great  impatience  to  shake  himself  free.  With  the 
thought  came  a  wave  of  anger  against  the  men  of  the 
town.  After  all,  what  had  he  to  gain  by  staying?  This 
outfit  was  a  fizzle ;  nothing  could  be  done  with  it  in 
the  future.  He  might  save  something  of  the  wreck  by 
grubbing  about  in  the  debris,  but  grubbing  was  ex 
actly  what  he  wanted  to  get  away  from. 

He  looked  over  the  works  again.  He  was  astonished 
to  find  how  little  of  it  he  cared  for  personally.  There 
remained  not  much  more  than  the  Westerner's  outfit, 
when  it  was  winnowed — four  good  horses,  the  buck- 

296 


THERE   IS   SOME   SHOOTING     297 

board,  his  saddle,  clothes,  his  weapons,  and  the  beauti 
ful  trotting  horse.  Billy  could  not  let  that  go.  The 
camp  outfit  they  could  have  and  welcome.  He  kicked 
the  rubber  stamper  into  space,  scattering  potential  lit 
erature  about  the  landscape.  Many  things  he  hesitated 
over,  but  finally  discarded.  The  heap  was  not  very 
large  when  all  was  told. 

He  began  to  experiment  with  the  buckboard.  Billy 
was  a  master  of  the  celebrated  diamond  hitch.  After 
an  hour's  earnest  work,  he  drew  back  triumphantly  to 
observe  to  himself  that  all  he  wished  to  take  with  him 
was  securely  packed  on  the  vehicle.  Then  he  coupled 
in  his  grays,  and  led  out  the  beautiful  trotting  horse. 
He  was  glad  that  he  had  lately  paid  the  English  groom 
his  wages ;  which  individual  he  remembered  seeing, 
the  night  before,  dead  drunk  in  a  corner.  Billy  made 
himself  some  coffee  in  the  empty  cookee's  shack,  and 
was  ready  to  start. 

He  did  not  know  exactly  where  he  would  go ;  that 
was  a  matter  of  detail,  but  somewhere  West  in  all  prob 
ability — somewhere  in  Wyoming,  where  Jim  Buckley 
was  hidden  up  in  the  mountains,  living  a  sane  sort  of  a 
life,  removed  from  the  corroding  influences  of  civiliza 
tion.  He  did  not  realize  that  in  this  impatient  shaking 
off  of  responsibility,  he  was  little  better  than  a  moral 
coward.  Even  Billy's  worst  enemies  would  have  de 
nied  the  justice  of  that  epithet. 

He  climbed  in,  deliberately  unwound  the  reins  from 
the  long  brake  handle,  clucked  to  the  horses,  and  took 
his  way,  whistling,  down  the  narrow  trail.  The  beau 
tiful  trotting  horse  followed  gingerly,  tossing  his  head. 
At  the  entrance  to  town,  Billy's  whistling  suddenly 
ceased.  The  street  was  quite  bare  and  silent.  Not 


298  THE   WESTERNERS 

even  from  the  Little  Nugget  saloon  or  the  new  dance 
hall  came  the  faintest  sound  of  human  occupancy.  A 
tenderfoot  might  have  argued  that  this  was  indicative 
of  deep  sleep  after  last  night's  festivities,  but  Billy 
knew  better.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after 
excitement  such  as  that  of  a  few  hours  before,  the  nor 
mal  ensuing  pow-wow  would  still  be  raging  unabated. 
He  reached  under  the  seat  for  his  Winchester,  the  new 
40-82  model  of  his  prosperous  days,  and  laid  it  softly 
across  his  lap,  and  caught  the  end  of  the  long  lash  in 
his  whip  hand.  Then  he  resumed  his  tune  exactly 
where  it  had  been  broken  off,  looking  neither  to  right 
nor  left,  and  jogging-  along  without  the  slightest  ap 
pearance  of  haste  or  uneasiness.  No  one  could  have 
called  Billy  Knapp  a  coward  at  that  moment. 

Near  the  first  cabin  the  whistling  broke  off  again. 
A  little  figure  stumbled  out  into  the  deserted  street, 
weeping  and  afraid.  Billy  pulled  up.  It  was  the  Kid. 

"  They're  goin'  to  shoot  you,"  he  sobbed,  "  from 
behind  the  Little  Nugget,  without  givin'  you  a  chanst ! 
I  had  to  tell  you,  an'  they'll  most  kill  me !  "  he  wailed. 
Billy's  eyes  began  to  sparkle.  The  Kid  tried  to  hold 
within  the  other's  reach  his  little  22  calibre  rifle,  his 
most  precious  possession.  "  Here,  take  this !  "  he 
begged. 

Billy  laughed  outright,  a  generous,  hearty  laugh  with 
just  a  shade  of  something  serious  in  it.  "  Thank  ye," 
said  he,  "  I  got  one.  And  let  me  tell  ye  right  yere,  you 
Kid.  Yore  a  white  man,  you  are,  and  yore  jest  about 
the  only  white  man  in  the  place."  He  cast  his  eyes 
about  him  in  the  buckboard  at  his  feet.  "  Yere  ye  be,'" 
he  said,  tugging  at  a  pair  of  huge  silver-ornamented 
Mexican  spurs  and  leaning  over  to  give  them  to  the 


THERE   IS   SOME   SHOOTING     299 

boy ;  "  jest  remember  me  by  them  thar ;  they  has  my 
name  in  'em ;  and,  look  yere,"  he  went  on  with  a  sud 
den  inspiration,  "  you-all  gets  up  gulch  to  my  camp 
and  takes  what  grub  you  finds  and  lies  low  until  yo' 
paw  an'  th'  rest  gits  over  bein'  mad.  I  don't  know  but 
what  they  does  kill  you,  if  you  shows  up  afore  that." 
And  he  laughed  again  to  see  the  boy's  face  brighten 
at  this  prospect  of  escaping  the  immediate  wrath  to 
follow. 

The  little  scene  had  been  enacted  in  the  middle  of 
the  silent  street,  so  silent  and  so  empty  that  the  princi 
pal  actors  in  it  experienced  an  uncomfortable  emotion 
of  publicity,  perhaps  a  little  like  that  of  an  inexpe 
rienced  speaker  before  the  glare  of  footlights.  The 
Kid,  followed  friskily  by  Peter,  scuttled  up  the  gulch. 
Billy  stood  up  in  his  buckboard  and  faced  the  inscruta 
ble  row  of  houses. 

"  Yo'  damn  coyotes  !  "  he  yelled,  "  thar  goes  the  only 
man  in  the  whole  outfit.  Shoot !  yo'  Siwashes,  shoot !  " 
and  he  brought  his  long  whip  like  a  figure  8  across  the 
flanks  of  all  four  horses  at  once. 

Bang!  reverberated  a  shot  between  the  hills,  and  a 
bullet  splashed  white  against  the  brake  bar. 

Billy  dropped  the  reins  to  the  floor  of  the  buckboard, 
and  planted  his  foot  on  them.  He  steadied  his  knee 
against  the  seat,  and  threw  down  and  back  the  lever  of 
his  Winchester  for  a  shot.  The  beautiful  trotting 
horse  was  pulling  back  in  an  ecstasy  of  terror  at  the 
end  of  his  long  lariat,  shaking  his  head  and  planting 
his  forefeet.  Billy  cursed  savagely,  but  jerked  loose 
the  knot,  and  the  beautiful  trotting  horse,  with  a  final 
snort  of  terror,  turned  tail  and  disappeared  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  mine. 


300  THE  WESTERNERS 

Bang!  Bang!  Bang!  went  other  shots  from  behind 
puffs  of  white  smoke.  The  hills  caught  up  the  sound 
and  rolled  it  back,  and  then  back  again,  until  it  was 
quite  impossible  to  count  the  discharges. 

There  were  perhaps  a  half-dozen  men  with  rifles  and 
a  dozen  or  so  with  six-shooters,  all  pumping  away  at 
it  as  fast  as  they  could.  The  buckboard  was  struck 
many  times.  One  horse  was  hit,  but  only  slightly — 
not  enough  to  interfere  with,  but  rather  to  encourage 
his  speed.  Billy  fastened  his  eyes  on  the  spot  whence 
the  first  bullet  had  sped.  Suddenly  he  threw  his  rifle 
to  his  shoulder. 

Crack!  it  spoke,  strangly  flat  out  there  in  the  open 
against  the  fuller  reports  of  the  other  pieces. 

The  bullets  which  undershot  kicked  up  little  puffs  of 
dust,  like  grasshoppers  jumping,  while  those  that 
passed  above,  ricochetted  finally  from  rocks  and  went 
singing  away  into  the  distance.  It  was  a  wonder,  with 
so  large  a  mark,  that  neither  the  man  nor  the  horses 
were  hit.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the 
marksmen  were  more  or  less  drunk,  and  that  Billy's 
speed  was  by  now  something  tremendous. 

Crack!  went  his  Winchester  again. 

At  the  end  of  the  straight  road  was,  as  has  perhaps 
been  mentioned,  a  turn  of  considerable  sharpness, 
flanked  by  bold  cliff-like  rocks.  In  the  best  of  circum 
stances,  this  bit  of  road  requires  careful  driving.  With 
a  runaway  four  and  a  light  buckboard,  a  smash  up  was 
inevitable.  The  hidden  assailants  and  spectators  of  the 
strange  duel  realized  this  suddenly.  In  the  interest  of 
the  approaching  catastrophe,  the  fusillade  ceased  as 
abruptly  as  it  had  begun.  Billy  maintained  his  first 
attitude,  one  knee  on  the  seat,  the  other  foot  braced 


THERE   IS   SOME  SHOOTING    301 

against  the  floor,  keenly  expectant.  The  silence  be 
came  breathless,  and  one  or  two  men  leaned  forward 
the  better  to  see. 

"  Crack!  "  spoke  Billy's  rifle  for  the  third  time.  The 
man  who  had  fired  the  first  shot  pitched  suddenly  for 
ward  from  behind  his  sheltering  corner,  and  lay  still. 

With  one  swift  motion  the  scout  dropped  his  Win 
chester  in  the  seat,  grasped  the  four  reins,  and  threw 
his  enormous  weight  against  the  bits.  The  grays  had 
been  ranch-bred.  They  bunched  their  feet,  hunched 
their  backs,  and  in  three  heavy  buck  jumps  had  slowed 
down  from  a  breakneck  run  to  a  lumbering  gallop. 
Billy  Knapp  gave  vent  to  the  wild  shrill  war  cry  of  his 
foster  parents,  the  Oglallah  Sioux,  and  jogged  calmly 
out  of  sight  around  the  bend  of  the  road. 

A  great  crowd  pressed  about  Tony  Houston,  prone 
on  the  ground.  They  discovered  that  the  ball  had 
passed  through  the  point  of  the  shoulder,  not  a  danger 
ous  place  in  itself,  but  resulting  in  a  serious  wound  be 
cause  of  the  smashing  power  of  the  express  rifle. 

"  Damn  fine  shooting!  "  they  said,  looking  at  each 
other  with  admiration.  "  Damn  fine/' 

They  began  to  feel  a  little  more  kindly  toward  Billy 
on  account  of  this  evidence  of  his  skill.  They  set  about 
bandaging  the  wounded  man. 


XXXIII 

FUTILITY 

AND  around  that  lower  bend,  half  a  mile  beyond 
Durand's  cabin,  Billy  encountered  in  the  person 
of  Jim  Buckley  the  very  man  he  intended  to 
search  for,  and  that  by  not  so  very  strange  a  chance 
when  all  is  considered. 

After  the  scouting  days  were  quite  over,  not  long 
ago,  by  the  way,  Jim  Buckley  had  struck  out  for  Wy 
oming,  where  he  looked  about  him  and  finally  settled 
in  the  Crooked  Horn  district  all  alone.  He  was  pros 
pecting.  And  as  he  was  a  great  big  leisurely  sort  of 
fellow,  never  in  a  hurry,  and  quite  unconvinced  of  the 
necessity  for  being  so,  it  took  him  a  great  many  years 
to  complete  the  prospecting  to  his  satisfaction.  In 
fact  it  was  only  recently  that  he  had  fully  convinced 
himself  and  others  of  the  value  of  what  he  had  found 
At  first  he  had  worked  the  surface  over  inch  by  inch, 
Then  he  had  staked  out  his  more  experimental  claims. 
Then  he  had  burrowed  and  grubbed  and  delved,  single- 
handed,  through  a  network  of  shafts,  tunnels,  and 
drifts.  It  is  slow  work — single-handed.  In  the  morning 
you  make  little  holes  with  a  hand  drill,  and  fill  them 
with  powder.  At  noon  you  blast.  In  the  afternoon 
you  cart  away  debris  by  means  of  an  inadequate  little 
bucket.  This  takes  time  and  patience,  both  of  which 
Jim  Buckley  possessed.  Once  a  month  he  went  to 
town,  riding  one  horse  and  leading  another,  for  the 

302 


FUTILITY  303 

purpose  of  buying  supplies.  The  rest  of  the  time  he 
lived  alone. 

That  is,  he  lived  alone  except  that  directly  opposite 
the  window,  where  the  light  always  struck  it  fair,  he 
had  carefully  fastened  a  small  colored  portrait  on  ivory. 
It  was  the  picture  of  a  woman,  delicately  tinted,  young 
with  laughing  blue  eyes  and  a  mouth  whose  corner?, 
turned  upward  in  so  droll  a  manner  that  you  would 
have  sworn  its  owner  had  never  known  a  care  in  her 
fresh  young  life.  It  was  the  picture  of  another  man's 
wife.  She  had  known  care,  of  the  bitterest,  blackest 
kind,  and  in  her  darkest  days  she  had  been  murdered, 
mercifully  perhaps.  After  he  had  hauled  the  last  little 
bucket  of  broken  rock  up  to  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  had  ranged  all  sorts  of  utensils  in  the  open  fire 
place  for  the  evening  meal,  Jim  Buckley  used  to  light 
his  pipe  and  sit  looking  at  this  little  portrait  for  a  long 
time.  For,  you  see,  he  was  simply  made,  with  no  com 
plexities — a  few  simple  purposes,  a  few  simple  ideas, 
a  few  simple  friendships,  a  few  simple  passions — but 
they  were  the  stronger  and  deeper  and  more  soul-sat 
isfying  for  that.  He  did  not  need  incident  or  sorrow 
or  regret  to  round  out  his  life.  It  was  well  poised  and 
sufficient. 

So  he  used  to  look  upon  the  face  of  this  other  man's 
wife  from  under  sombre  brows,  but  through  clear  eyes. 
No  one  could  have  guessed  what  his  slow  deep 
thoughts  were  at  such  times,  nor  what  he  found, 
whether  of  peace  or  unrest,  in  his  contemplation  of  a 
portrait  of  the  past.  He  said  it  made  him  better.  Per 
haps  it  did. 

But  there  came  a  time  when  the  windlasses  over  the 
rabbit-burrow  prospector's  shafts  had  made  their  last 


304  THE   WESTERNERS 

necessary  revolution.  Jim  Buckley  knew  the  cross 
section  of  that  country  as  well  as  you  or  I  know  the 
cross  section  of  an  apple  we  have  just  cut  in  two. 
Then,  having  satisfied  his  purposes,  he  looked  to  his 
friendships.  He  had  never  had  many.  Alfred,  Billy 
Knapp,  Hal  Townsend,  Charley  Fanchild — why  you 
could  count  them  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand — and  two 
of  these  were  dead,  and  another  was  so  far  away  in  the 
cattle  country  of  Arizona  that  he  might  as  well  have 
been  so.  Jim  would  have  liked  well  to  have  gathered 
)  this  old  band  of  comrades  about  him  and  said,  "  Here, 
boys,  is  what  I  have.  It  is  more  than  enough  for  me : 
it  is  more  than  enough  for  all  of  us.  Let  us  share  it, 
just  as  we  used  to  share  our  bacon  or  our  coffee  in 
the  old  days,  and  so  we  can  grow  old  together  in  the 
way  that  suits  us  best,  the  way  of  the  pioneer."  As  he 
sat  in  the  cabin  now,  or  stalked  the  hills  with  his  rifle, 
this  old  comradeship  took  more  and  more  shape  from 
the  mists  of  the  past,  and  there  grew  up  in  his  breast 
a  sharp  craving  for  old  times,  old  faces,  old  friends. 
It  was  a  peculiarity  of  his  nature  that  his  ideas  pos 
sessed  a  sort  of  cumulative  force.  They  gathered  added 
reasons  for  their  carrying  out  as  a  rolling  snowball 
gathers  snow.  Toward  the  end  of  that  month,  he 
packed  a  strange  old  valise  with  clothes  for  the  journey, 
strapped  on  his  best  six-shooter,  put  his  cabin  in  order, 
and  rode  his  horse  down  to  Crooked  Horn.  There  he 
left  the  animal  with  Billy  Powers  and  took  the  train 
for  Edgemont  and  thence  to  Rapid. 

He  knew  that  Billy  was  somewhere  in  the  Hills.  At 
Rapid  he  learned  of  that  individual's  new  importance. 
His  heart  sank  a  little  at  the  thought  that  this  pros 
perity  might  forfend  his  own  scheme  of  comradeship, 


FUTILITY  305 

but  nevertheless  he  took  Blair's  stage  for  Copper  Creek 
and  Custer. 

Near  Rockerville  the  axle  gave  way.  The  brake  was 
repaired  at  a  miner's  forge  with  some  difficulty,  but 
the  job  carried  on  so  late  into  the  afternoon  that  Blair 
refused  to  go  farther  that  night,  and  the  party  slept 
at  Rockerville.  The  next  morning  they  pushed  on 
again  about  daylight,  in  order  that  Blair  might  start 
back  from  Custer  before  noon,  thus  reducing  his  delay 
by  a  few  hours.  A  half  mile  below  Durand's  shack  the 
axle  again  gave  way,  this  time  with  a  sudden  violence 
that  sent  flying  the  baggage  which  had  been  piled  on 
top.  Jim  found  his  valise  in  the  bushes.  The  catch 
had  snapped  when  the  bag  hit  the  ground,  so  that  it 
lay  half  open ;  but  fortunately  its  contents  had  not 
emptied.  Jim  closed  it  with  the  two  end-clasps,  and 
set  it  by  the  side  of  the  road.  He  did  not  notice  that 
the  ivory  miniature  had  dropped  out,  and  now  lay  face 
downward  at  the  roots  of  a  mesquite. 

Blair  looked  up  from  his  inspection. 

"  Bad  break  1 "  he  said,  with  a  string  of  oaths.  "  Cop 
per  Creek's  under  a  mile  ahead.  You'll  save  time  by 
pushin'  on  afoot.  I'll  be  in  as  soon  as  I  can  get  this 
sulphurated  axle  tied  together  with  a  strap." 

"  No  hurry,"  replied  Jim ;   "  I'll  help  you." 

He  began  to  unhitch  the  horses  while  Blair  went  to 
borrow  an  axe  of  Durand.  The  driver's  intention  was 
to  splice  the  broken  axle  with  a  bit  of  green  wood.  In 
a  little  time,  he  and  the  old  man  returned  together. 

So  Billy  found  them,  straining  away  with  an  im 
promptu  crowbar.  When  he  and  Jim  saw  each  other, 
they  agreed  that  they'd  be  tee-totally  chawed  up  !  After 
a  time  the  stage  moved  doubtfully  on  toward  Copper 


306  THE   WESTERNERS 

Creek.  Billy  and  Jim  went  the  other  way  in  the  buck- 
board. 

Billy  explained  that  he  was  going  to  see  Jim ;  and 
Jim  explained  that  he  had  come  to  get  Billy.  Billy 
elaborated  on  the  tale  of  his  doings  since  their  last 
meeting,  and  easily  persuaded  Jim,  as  well  as  himself, 
that  he  was  a  most  wronged  individual.  To  restore 
his  self-respect  it  only  needed  a  sympathetic  listener, 
so  that  he  could  hear  the  sound  of  his  own  voice.  For 
the  moment  he  had  doubted  himself.  Now  he  saw 
plainly  that  he  had  been  misled  by  false  pretences.  If 
he  had  understood  clearly  from  the  beginning  the 
picayune  policy  expected  of  him  by  these  stingy  East 
erners,  he  would  have  graduated  his  scale  of  expendi 
tures  to  suit  it ;  but  certainly  they  had  implied  at  least 
that  they  intended  to  get  up  a  good  big  mine.  Served 
a  man  right  for  going  in  with  such  sharpers ! 

Jim  merely  said  that  he  had  a  first-rate  thing  to 
share  with  Billy. 

It  was  a  pleasant  sight,  the  bearded  solemn  miner, 
fairly  glowing  with  pleasure  over  finding  Billy  un 
fortunate  and  therefore  open  to  his  own  kind  offices ; 
the  eager-faced  enthusiastic  promoter,  elated  and  high- 
spirited  because  of  the  relief  of  putting  quite  behind 
him  a  colossal  failure  ;  because  of  the  privilege  of  start 
ing  again  with  a  clean  slate  ;  because  of  a  hundred  new 
and  promising  schemes  for  the  future.  Michail  La- 
fond's  long  planning  had  availed  little,  after  all.  With 
all  his  shrewdness  he  did  not  see  that  in  the  personality 
of  Billy  Knapp  he  was  attempting  to  quench  the  es 
sence  of  enthusiasm  and  hope  and  faith — inextinguish 
able  fires.  That  is  the  American  frontiersman. 

At  Rapid  they  took  the  train  to  Crooked  Horn.    At 


FUTILITY  307 

Crooked  Horn  they  reclaimed  the  horse  from  Billy 
Powers.  Then  they  inaugurated  the  boom.  At  this 
very  day,  December  24th,  1899,  they  are  still  living  to 
gether  in  the  new  town  of  Knapp  City,  Wyoming, 
wealthy  and  respected  citizens.  And  Billy  recounts  his 
Copper  Creek  experiences,  generally  with  tolerance, 
as  an  example  of  the  deceit  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
They  were  the  fruit  of  eighteen  years  of  planning  and 
waiting  and  working  by  a  man  who  thought  he  could 
shape  greater  destinies  than  his  own. 


XXXIV 

LOVE'S   EYES   UNBANDAGED 

AFTER  the  vociferating  group  had  made  Hous 
ton  comfortable  with  the  bandages  and  rough 
surgery  of  the  frontier,  it  again  took  up  the 
discussion  of  ways  and  means.  It  was  a  tired  crowd, 
haggard  from  dissipation  and  want  of  sleep.  And  then, 
too,  it  was  a  cross  crowd. 

A  majority  were  savage.  Their  passions  were 
aroused  to  an  unreasoning  pitch,  as  is  the  manner  of 
mobs.  To  them  it  was  not  a  question  of  discussion, 
but  of  destruction.  They  wanted  to  burn  the  Com 
pany's  buildings,  and  they  were  so  set  on  it,  and  so 
impatient  of  even  a  word  of  opposition,  that  Lafond 
began  to  be  a  little  frightened  for  his  new  property. 
His  attempts  at  dissuasion  were  everywhere  met  with 
rebuff.  Finally,  on  a  sudden  inspiration,  he  sprang  to 
his  own  window  ledge  and  signed  his  desire  to  speak. 

Such  men  as  Moroney,  Kelly,  Graham,  and  Will 
iams,  cooler  heads,  whose  stake  in  the  camp's  fate  was 
still  heavy,  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  momentary  si 
lence. 

"  Boys,"  shouted  Mike,  "  I'll  pay  you  myself! " 

They  paused  in  good  earnest  now,  to  see  what  these 
astounding  words  might  signify. 

"I'll  pay  you  myself!"  repeated  Lafond.  Then— 
for  he  was  too  shrewd  to  promise  a  thing  of  such  mo 
ment  without  giving  a  plausible  reason  for  it — he  went 
on,  "  I  can't  afford  to  let  this  camp  bust ;  I  got  too 


LOVE'S   EYES   UNBANDAGED    309 

much  in  it.  I  can  afford  better  that  I  spend  a  little  to 
help  it  along.  I  don't  know  what  it  is  that  the  Com 
pany  intends ;  but  I  will  find  out ;  and  this  I  promise 
to  you,  if  the  Company  does  not  pay  you,  I  will  make 
some  arrangement  for  the  mine  and  I  will  pay  you 
myself!" 

Even  Graham  and  Moroney  were  a  little  deceived. 
Both  perceived  dimly  an  ulterior  motive,  but  on  the 
surface  the  offer  was  generous  and  there  could  be  no 
doubt  that  Lafond's  word  was  perfectly  good  in  such 
a  matter.  As  for  the  men,  they  were  more  than  satis 
fied. 

"  But  of  course,"  Lafond  was  saying,  "  you  must 
not  do  any  injury  to  the  property." 

Which  went  without  saying,  as  every  one  could  see. 

Michail  Lafond  ate  his  breakfast  with  many  long 
pauses.  He  had  little  appetite.  His  plans  had  gone 
well,  and  yet  in  their  outcome  rested  a  little  remnant 
of  the  indecisive  that  annoyed  him  out  of  all  propor 
tion.  Billy  had  been  discharged  from  his  position  as 
superintendent  and  driven  from  camp,  yet  his  exit  had 
been  melodramatically  brilliant  and  had  somehow  done 
much  to  leave  his  memory  in  good  odor.  He,  Lafond, 
had  the  promise  of  the  property;  but  even  yet  the 
deeds  were  in  escrow  at  Rapid.  It  was  forty-five  miles 
to  Rapid — ten  hours!  Much  might  happen  in  ten 
hours.  At  the  thought,  which  Lafond  instinctively 
paused  to  note  was  not  in  his  usual  confident  manner, 
he  started  up  and  commanded  Frosty  to  harness  his 
team  of  bays  to  the  buckboard.  He  would  complete 
the  contract  before  sunset.  While  the  animals  were 
being  harnessed,  he  tried  to  smoke  a  pipe.  It  went 
out.  He  attempted  to  read  a  paper.  He  could  not. 


310  THE   WESTERNERS 

Finally  he  went  out  of  doors  and  strode  rapidly  up  and 
down.  He  felt  chilled,  for  the  air  of  the  early  morning 
was  sharp.  He  thrust  his  arm  through  the  open  win 
dow  and  took  down  his  old  canvas  coat  from  behind 
the  door,  and  put  it  on.  In  spite  of  its  protection  he 
shivered  again. 

"  Hurry  up,  hurry  up,  hurry  up !  "  he  growled  at 
Frosty.  He  snapped  the  lash  of  his  black-snake  whip, 
making  the  bays  dance  to  the  hindrance  of  Frosty's 
task.  His  eye  caught  the  new  dance  hall. 

"  She's  been  worth  while,  if  she  never  does  another 
thing,"  he  commented  to  himself,  and  then  realized 
that  he  had  said  it,  not  because  he  believed  it,  but  be 
cause  he  wanted  to  keep  his  courage  up.  What  was 
this  dread  of  the  intangible  ?  He  could  not  understand 
it.  "  Getting  too  old  to  sit  up  all  night,"  he  explained 
it  to  himself. 

His  thoughts  went  back  to  the  night.  It  had  left 
with  him  an  impression  of  being  unsatisfactory.  Why 
should  it  ?  There  was  something  about  the  girl,  he  did 
not  recall  exactly  what.  Oh  yes,  Cheyenne  Harry! 
That  affair  had  balked.  Well,  it  did  not  much  matter : 
that  was  a  detail.  Now  that  the  dance  hall  was  up, 
the  girl  could  be  forced  to  take  her  place.  Lafond  told 
himself  that  he  was  a  little  tired  of  finesse  and  delicate 
planning — too  tired  to  undertake  another  long  cam 
paign  of  the  kind  merely  for  the  satisfaction  to  be 
found  in  the  process.  Besides,  in  this  case  it  was  not 
necessary.  He  would  settle  the  affair  now,  get  it  off 
his  mind. 

He  strode  over  to  the  girl's  shack  and  pushed  open 
the  door.  She  was  lying  flat  on  her  fac«,  fully  dressed 
as  in  her  first  transport  of  shame,  but  she  had  now 


LOVE'S   EYES   UNBANDAGED    311 

fallen  into  a  light  sleep.  At  the  creak  of  the  door, 
however,  she  looked  up,  her  eyes  red  with  crying. 

"  That  was  a  hell  of  a  performance  last  night,"  said 
Lafond  brutally,  "  and  it  don't  go  again." 

He  had  never  spoken  to  her  so  before. 

She  sat  upright  on  the  bed  and  stared  at  him,  clasp 
ing  one  hand  near  her  throat. 

"  That  ain't  what  you're  here  for,"  continued  Mike. 
"  There'll  be  another  dance  Saturday  night,  and  you 
be  on  hand  and  stay  on  hand.  That's  your  job  now — 
understand  ?  " 

A  slow  comprehension  of  his  meaning  crept  into  her 
eyes,  and  she  covered  them  with  her  hands.  The  half- 
breed  stood  in  the  doorway  coiling  and  uncoiling  the 
lash  of  his  whip.  He  wanted  some  indication  of  how 
she  was  going  to  take  it. 

"  Understand  ?  "  he  repeated. 

She  merely  shuddered. 

"  Damn  it !  can't  you  answer?  "  he  cried  impatiently. 
"What  do  you  think  I've  raised  you  for  anyway? 

You're  none  of  my  breed.  Answer,  you ,"  and  he 

spat  out  an  epithet. 

She  lowered  her  hands  and  looked  at  him  again 
with  wide-open  eyes  from  which  all  expression  had 
faded.  This  stony  silence  irritated  Lafond. 

"  You've  had  your  head  long  enough.  Now  you're 
going  to  show  what  you're  made  for.  Understand? 
Great  God !  "  he  cried,  "  you've  got  a  tongue,  haven't 
you  ?  Why  don't  you  answer  when  I  ask  you  a  ques 
tion  ?  "  In  one  of  the  sudden  Latin  gusts  of  passion, 
which  generally  he  held  so  well  in  control,  Lafond 
lashed  her  across  the  breast  with  his  black-snake  whr^. 
Almost  before  the  impulse  had  quitted  his  brain  tie 


312  THE  WESTERNERS 

regretted  it,  for  her  scream  would  bring  out  the  camp, 
and  Lafond  could  see  the  awkwardness  of  an  explana 
tion.  It  was  better  to  break  her  in  gradually.  To  his 
relief,  she  did  not  cry  out,  but  merely  shivered  pitifully 
and  closed  her  eyes. 

"  That's  what  you'll  get  if  you  don't  toe  the  mark," 
threatened  Lafond,  only  too  glad  to  avoid  a  scene. 
He  slouched  out  of  the  door,  climbed  into  his  light 
wagon  shaking  his  heavy  head  sullenly,  and  drove 
away  in  the  direction  of  Rapid. 

After  he  had  gone  and  the  sound  of  his  wheels  had 
died  away,  the  girl  arose  staggeringly  from  her  bed. 
The  bright  world  had  crumbled.  For  the  first  time 
in  her  young  existence  her  thoughts  turned  to  the 
vague  conception  of  a  higher  Being  which  she  had 
built,  Heaven  knows  how,  from  materials  gathered, 
Heaven  knows  where. 

"  God,  God,  God !  "  she  cried,  "  I  thought  this  was 
a  happy  world  where  people  laughed.  I  did  not  know 
there  was  so  much  sorrow  in  the  world.  You  did  not 
make  the  world  to  be  sorrowful,  did  you,  God  ?  " 

She  was  almost  blind.  She  knew  that  she  must  kill 
herself :  that  alone  was  clear.  It  was  that  or  the  dance 
hall.  She  was  to  be  like  Bismarck  Anne.  And  she 
realized  in  a  moment  that  she  knew  Black  Mike,  his 
iron  will  and  his  cruel  heart ;  and  she  was  afraid  of 
him,  deadly  afraid.  She  began  to  grope  about  the 
room.  There  was  a  dim  square :  that  must  be  the 
window.  Her  hands  passed  fumblingly  over  the  table, 
just  missing  the  long  sewing  scissors.  Nothing  there. 
Quick,  quick,  he  might  come  back!  She  almost  fell 
over  the  cloak,  which  had  fallen  to  the  floor,  and  was 
now  entangled  about  her  feet.  There  was  another 


LOVE'S   EYES   UNBANDAGED    313 

square  of  light :  it  must  be  the  door.  She  stumbled 
out  into  a  glare  of  merciless  sunshine  that  filled  her 
brain  and  beat  on  the  walls  of  her  understanding  until 
she  covered  her  eyes,  and  still  stumbled  on.  She 
thought  she  heard  men  shouting.  She  was  not  sure. 

From  his  work  of  sweeping  out  the  stale  saloon, 
Frosty  had  seen  her.  She  was  a  strange  sight,  her 
hair  half  down,  her  face  white  and  drawn,  her  step 
so  uncertain.  Frosty  was  very  fond  of  her  in  his 
stupid  silent  way.  He  yelled  and  ran  toward  her. 

In  this  day  of  excitement,  a  cry  brought  a  dozen 
heads  to  a  dozen  windows  and  doors.  In  a  moment 
the  girl  was  surrounded.  The  men  were  puzzled. 
"  Plain  case  of  bug-juice,"  said  one,  a  little  sorrow 
fully. 

She  felt  someone  trying  gently  to  lead  her  some 
where,  but  she  resisted,  crying  "  Let  me  go,  let  me  go. 
I  want  to  get  to  the  big  rock." 

Graham  pushed  his  way  anxiously  into  the  group. 
He  had  not  been  able  to  bring  himself  to  attend  the 
dance  the  evening  before,  but  he  had  been  told  the  de 
tails,  and  up  to  now  had  felt  rather  relieved  than  other 
wise  at  the  turn  affairs  had  taken. 

"  Why  do  you  want  to  go  to  the  big  rock,  Molly  ?  " 
he  asked  gently. 

At  the  sound  of  his  voice  she  began  to  cry  a  little. 
"  It  is  so  high  up  there,  so  high,"  she  said  over  and 
over. 

"  Of  course  it's  high,  Molly,  very  high ;  but  don't 
you  think  you'd  better  wait  until  to-morrow  ?  " 

The  men  stood  about  with  awe-stricken  faces.  They 
saw  now  that  there  was  more  in  this  than  they  had 
at  first  supposed-  "  Nutty."  they  whispered  to  each 
other  in  undertone*, 


314  THE  WESTERNERS 

"  Such  a  long  way  down,  a  long  way  down,"  went 
on  the  girl.  "  I  could  jump  from  there  very  easily ; 
such  a  long  way  down !  " 

Graham  took  her  quietly  by  the  shoulders. 

"  Listen,  Molly,  it's  I,  Jack  Graham." 

"  Yes,  Jack." 

"  And  I  want  you  to  do  just  as  I  say.  Will  you 
doit?" 

"  Yes,  Jack/' 

"  I  want  you  to  go  with  me.  Do  you  trust  me, 
Molly?" 

She  began  to  sob  violently,  almost  convulsively, 
dabbing  uncertainly  at  her  eyes. 

"  What  is  it,  Jack?    What  am  I  doing  here?  " 

"  Nothing ;  it's  all  right.  Will  you  come  with  me  ? 
Ah,  that's  better." 

She  looked  about  her  with  intelligence. 

"  What  is  it,  boys  ?  How  did  I  come  here  ?  "  Her 
glance  wandered  past  them  to  the  dance  hall,  and  she 
turned  away  suddenly.  "  Ah !  I  remember !  "  The 
strained  look  began  to  come  back  into  her  face. 

"  Here,  here,  Molly !  "  cried  Graham  in  alarm,  "  that 
won't  do !  Here,  you  must  do  just  exactly  as  I  say. 
You  must  come  with  me  now,  and  get  something  to 
eat  and  some  sleep.  Don't  you  trust  me,  Molly  ?  " 

He  looked  steadily  into  her  eyes,  his  brow  contorted 
with  anxiety. 

"  Oh,  Jack,  Jack,"  she  cried  suddenly,  "  whom  else 
could  I  trust  but  you?  You  have  been  the  only  man 
whom  I  could  have  trusted  from  the  very  first,  the  only 
man  I  should  have  trusted.  I  see  that  now.  I  have 
known  it  all  the  while,  but  I  would  not  acknowledge 
it." 


LOVE'S   EYES   UNBANDAGED    315 

"  Will  you  go  with  me  then,  Molly  ?  "  asked  Graham 
again. 

This  time  it  was  she  who  raised  her  hands  to  his 
shoulders.  "  Jack,"  said  she  solemnly,  "  a  few  minutes 
ago  I  was  on  the  point  of  killing  myself  because  I  saw 
nothing  but  death  or  that  dance  hall  before  me.  I  had 
forgotten.  I  will  never  do  so  again.  I  will  go  with  you 
now,  Jack,  wherever  you  want  me  to ;  and  I  will  go 
with  you,  Jack,  forever,  to  the  end  of  the  world/' 

She  leaned  suddenly  forward  and  kissed  him,  and 
then  as  suddenly  fell  to  weeping  again,  with  great  sobs 
that  shook  her  slender  body  cruelly. 

Never  was  a  stranger  love  scene ;  never  was  one 
more  in  keeping  with  the  wayward,  capricious,  yet  in 
trinsically  sterling  character  of  Molly  Lafond.  She 
did  not  understand  it ;  but  she  felt  to  her  inmost  soul 
that  it  was  real ;  and  that  if  she  did  not  love  Jack 
Graham  now,  at  least  she  respected  him  above  all  men 
and  above  herself,  and  that  her  affection  for  him  would 
never  diminish,  but  rather  increase  as  the  time  went 
on.  And  this  the  event  proved  to  be  true.  Nor  did 
Graham  understand,  but  he  too  felt  the  sincerity  of  it. 
As  for  the  men  before  whose  audience  the  curious 
drama  had  been  enacted,  they  understood  still  less. 

But  it  was  very  simple  after  all. 

In  her  nature,  as  in  all  other  natures,  two  forces  had 
struggled  for  the  mastery.  With  her  they  happened 
to  be  called  heredity,  or  the  East ;  and  education,  or 
the  West.  Her  training,  her  environment,  her  mental 
atmosphere  had  powerfully  affected  her  general  con 
duct  of  life ;  but  in  the  great  crisis  her  deeper  nature 
had  spoken,  and  she  had  obeyed. 


XXXV 

OUT   OF  THE   PAST 

MICHAIL  LAFOND  drove  on  slowly  down 
the  valley  of  Copper  Creek,  although,  if  he  in 
tended  to  reach  Rapid  before  dark,  there  would 
seem  to  be  every  reason  for  haste. 

He  usually  conducted  his  affairs  so  carefully,  so 
shrewdly,  so  calculatingly.  How  had  he  happened  to 
give  way  so  to  an  impulse  ?  He  regretted  lashing  the 
girl  with  his  whip,  because  he  felt  that  it  was  unnec 
essary.  Doing  unnecessary  evil  had  always  been 
against  Lafond's  principles.  He  considered  it  bad 
luck,  and  somehow  that  spectre  of  bad  luck  seemed  to 
be  coming  very  close.  He  had  lost  confidence.  There 
fore  he  made  mistakes. 

Just  outside  of  town  he  encountered  Blair's  stage 
crawling  along  on  a  mended  axle.  Naturally  both 
vehicles  pulled  up.  After  explanations  of  the  accident, 
Blair  remarked  casually — 

"  Struck  Billy  down  the  road  a  piece." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mike,  "  he  left  this  morning." 

"  Almighty  lucky  happen-so  for  him,  'cause  I  had 
an  old  codger  aboard  that  was  just  on  his  way  to  visit 
Billy.  Nice  old  cuss,  too.  Name  Buckley,  or  Bulkley, 
or  something  like  that.  Come  from  out  Wyoming 
way." 

Lafond  clamped  on  his  brake  again. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  used  to  know  him.  He  went  off 
with  Billy,  you  say  ?  " 


OUT  OF  THE  PAST  317 

"  Yes,  bag  an'  baggage." 

"  Coin'  to  Rapid  ?  " 

"  Near  as  I  could  make  out,"  said  Blair.  "  They 
reversed  the  proposition  on  the  spot.  Place  of  him 
a  visitin'  of  Billy,  Billy  he  aims  to  visit  him.  Things 
movin'  at  camp  ?  " 

"  They'll  tell  you  up  there,"  replied  Lafond  and 
drove  on. 

What  a  fiendish  stroke  of  luck!  This  one  man  in 
all  the  West  who  knew  of  the  affair  at  Spanish  Gulch 
in  the  seventies,  who  would  remember  the  doctor's 
wife,  who  would  recognize  the  strong  resemblance  of 
her  daughter  to  her,  who  might  stir  up  that  dust  of  the 
past  which  Lafond  had  so  carefully  laid — that  he  should 
come  just  at  this  time  !  To  be  sure,  there  was  nothing, 
absolutely  nothing,  to  implicate  him — Lafond.  But 
Buckley  was  a  tenacious  sort  of  individual ;  he  would 
insist  on  investigating.  That  would  mean  explana 
tions  by  Lafond,  a  detailed  account.  The  details  would 
have  to  be  invented.  And  then  a  chill  struck  his  heart 
as  he  realized  that  he  could  not  recall  all  the  story  he 
had  told  the  Indian  agent  when  he  had  left  the  little 
girl  in  his  charge  ! 

He  pulled  his  horses  down  to  a  walk  and  set  him 
self  to  thinking  earnestly.  He  went  over  in  sequence, 
as  nearly  as  he  could  remember  them,  every  word  and 
action,  from  his  meeting  with  Durand  to  his  departure 
from  the  agency.  It  was  no  use.  Even  at  the  time, 
he  had  invented  the  story  lightly,  without  much 
thought  of  its  importance  except  as  a  temporary  ex 
pedient.  Now  the  matter  had  quite  escaped  him.  Jim 
Buckley's  return  West,  which  had  before  seemed  mere 
ly  fortunate,  he  saw  now  had  been  providential.  It  was 


318  THE  WESTERNERS 

a  narrow  escape.  He  must  visit  the  agent  as  soon  as 
possible,  for  the  purpose  of  refreshing  his  memory. 

He  came  to  Durand's  cabin.  The  old  man  stood 
near  the  doorway  examining  something  which  he  held 
flat  in  the  palm  of  his  hand.  At  his  feet,  Jacques,  the 
little  raccoon,  was  curled  up  in  a  bright-eyed  ball  of 
fur,  enjoying  the  early  sun.  Out  behind  the  cabin, 
Isabeau,  the  tasselled  lynx,  stepped  lightly  to  and  fro 
along  the  length  of  his  chain ;  and  the  great  Pantalon 
sat  drolly  on  his  shaggy  haunches  sniffing  the  air.  La- 
fond  stopped.  He  felt  he  must  talk  to  some  one  or 
give  way  to  this  incomprehensible  impulse  to  shriek 
aloud. 

They  exchanged  greetings.  At  once  Lafond  saw 
something  suspicious  in  the  old  man's  attitude.  He 
was  preternaturally  grave.  He  seemed  to  be  thinking 
of  something  behind  his  actual  speech. 

"  I've  something  to  show  you,  Lafond,"  he  re 
marked  after  a  little.  "  It's  very  queer,"  and  with  what 
Lafond  saw  at  once  to  be  an  accusing  motion  he  held 
before  the  latter's  eyes  the  little  ivory  miniature  of 
Prue  Welch. 

He  had  found  it  under  a  mesquite  bush.  Ever  since 
he  had  been  struggling  vainly  to  place  the  familiarity 
of  the  features.  He  had  not  seen  enough  of  the  girl 
at  the  camp  to  be  able  to  do  so  definitely,  but  he  had 
succeeded  in  bringing  his  mind  almost  to  the  point  of 
a  recognition  which  was  continually  just  escaping  him. 

Lafond  started  violently,  and  stared  at  the  portrait. 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter?  "  cried  Durand.  "  You 
look  as  though  you'd  seen  a  ghost !  " 

On  the  instant  Lafond  recovered  his  self-possession. 
He  glanced  with  side-long  evil  look  at  the  old  man. 


OUT   OF   THE   PAST  319 

""'  Nothing,'*  said  he  briefly. 

It  was  evident  that  the  naturalist  was  trying  to  trap 
him. 

"  Where  have  you  seen  her  before  ?  "  asked  the  lat 
ter,  returning  to  the  portrait.  "  She  is  old-fashioned 
— must  have  had  that  painted  fifteen  or  twenty  years 
ago — and  yet  I've  seen  her  recently." 

Lafond  stiffly  descended  from  the  vehicle,  both 
hands  thrust  deep  into  the  pockets  of  his  canvas  coat, 
and  peered  over  the  old  man's  shoulder. 

"  Here,  Lafond/'  the  latter  was  saying,  "  you  know 

more  about  this  than  I  do "  He  meant  that  the 

half-breed  possessed  a  wider  circle  of  acquaintances. 
At  his  words  Lafond  drew  an  ivory-handled  clasp- 
knife  from  the  pocket  of  his  canvas  coat,  opened  it  in 
two  lightning  motions  and  stabbed  the  old  man  deeply 
in  the  back.  The  latter  stumbled  forward,  half  turn 
ing  as  he  fell.  Lafond  plunged  his  blade  wickedly  into 
Durand's  throat,  where  it  stuck,  twisting  out  of  the 
murderer's  hands.  The  victim  writhed  twice,  gasped, 
and  died. 

Black  Mike  stood  over  the  body  for  a  moment,  pant 
ing.  He  stooped  to  recover  the  knife.  On  its  ivory 
handle  he  read  the  words  "  William  Knapp,"  on  which 
he  remembered,  and  left  it  where  it  was.  Then  he 
climbed  into  his  wagon  and  insanely  lashed  his  horses 
into  a  frantic  run. 

The  little  furry  'coon  approached  its  master  bristling. 
It  dabbled  its  black  paws,  almost  human,  in  the  blood 
that  stood  on  the  threshold,  and  then,  frothing  at  the 
muzzle,  it  scrambled  into  the  house  and  up  a  high 
bookshelf,  where  it  crouched,  its  eyes  like  coals  of 
green  fire. 


320  THE   WESTERNERS 

On  the  hillside  opposite  a  white-faced  little  boy  rose 
from  behind  a  mesquite  clasping  the  neck  of  a  homely 
dog.  He  ran  at  once  to  town,  where  he  burst  in  on 
Moroney,  crying,  "  Pop,  pop,  Black  Mike's  gone  and 
killed  old  Bugchaser  with  a  knife,"  after  which  he  be 
gan  to  cry  hysterically.  It  took  time  for  the  camp  to 
arouse,  to  dress,  to  hear  the  tale,  to  believe,  to  visit 
the  scene  of  the  deed,  to  believe  again  after  finding 
Billy's  knife,  to  discuss,  to  decide,  and  finally  to  saddle 
horses  and  depart,  puzzled,  on  the  trail  of  Lafond.  It 
had  a  rope.  But  it  also  wanted  to  hear  more  about  it. 
Therefore  its  speed  was  not  as  rapid  as  it  might  have 
been,  had  a  horse  thief,  for  instance,  been  the  object 
of  pursuit. 

So  Lafond,  after  his  first  impulse  to  get  away  from 
the  scene  of  his  deed  had  spent  itself,  jogged  along  un 
molested  toward  Rapid.  His  brain  was  working  like 
lightning,  but  always  on  one  line.  He  saw  himself 
alone,  standing  opposed  to  this  huge  black  Bad-luck. 
Everything  was  against  him.  But  they  couldn't  get 
him  down.  He  was  Man-who-speaks-Medicine,  the 
Sioux ;  he  was  Lafond,  the  half-breed ;  he  was  Black 
Mike,  the  pioneer.  Let  them  come  on  !  They  thought 
they  could  corner  him.  He  would  show  them.  One 
was  gone.  There  remained  the  other  two.  Lafond's 
mind  saw  red ;  he  was  set  on  murder.  No  considera 
tion  of  reason,  probability,  or  common  sense  obtruded 
itself  athwart  his  plan.  He  could  perceive  one  fact — 
that  three  men  knew  his  secret,  of  whom  one  was  dead 
and  the  other  two  were  living.  Why  Knapp  and  Buck 
ley  should  have  told  Durand ;  what  they  expected  to 
gain  by  going  to  Rapid  ;  or  what  benefit  the  naturalist 
imagined  could  accrue  to  him  from  his  insinuating  the 


OUT   OF   THE   PAST  321 

state  of  affairs  to  the  half-breed,  the  latter  did  not  in 
quire.  He  only  knew  that  he  wanted  to  catch  Knapp's 
btickboard  before  it  had  left  the  pine  belt.  Ambush 
would  then  be  easier.  He  lashed  his  horses  unmerci 
fully. 

Rockerville  told  him  the  two  men  had  passed 
through  not  half  an  hour  before,  and  wondered  at  the 
wildness  of  his  eye. 

That  was  well.  They  could  not  escape  him  now, 
for  their  wagon  was  heavily  loaded,  and  they  were 
travelling  leisurely,  having  no  reason  for  haste.  Re 
membering  appearances,  he  told  Rockerville  that  it  did 
not  much  matter,  he  would  not  try  to  catch  up ;  and 
then  drove  back  toward  Copper  Creek,  only  to  make 
a  detour  by  a  wood  road  into  the  Rapid  trail  again. 
As  he  approached  the  foothills,  he  could  hear  occa 
sionally  the  creak  of  a  brake  below  him,  by  which  he 
knew  that  he  was  drawing  near.  He  slowed  up  at 
once,  for  he  knew  of  a  short  cut  a  mile  or  so  ahead, 
which  the  prospectors  would  not  attempt  because  of 
their  heavy  load,  but  by  which  he  could  come  out 
ahead  of  his  victims.  Then  he  would  lie  in  wait.  The 
short  cut  in  question  dipped  steeply  down  into  the  bed 
of  a  creek,  and  as  steeply  up  on  the  other  side ;  while 
the  main  stage-road  made  a  long  horseshoe  curve 
around  the  head  of  the  canon.  Lafond  decided  to 
drive  rapidly  down,  to  leave  his  team  in  the  creek 
bottom,  and  to  climb  on  foot  to  the  level  of  the  main 
road  on  the  other  side.  In  the  meantime  he  drew  as 
near  to  the  other  wagon  as  he  could  without  being 
seen.  The  minutes  seemed  to  drag. 

At  last  he  discerned  the  dimly  blazed  trail,  rocky 
and  dangerous  enough,  which  dropped  sheer  away  into 


322  THE   WESTERNERS 

the  underbrush  below.  He  locked  the  brakes  and 
turned  sharply  down  to  the  right.  The  descent  was 
hazardous,  bumpy,  exceedingly  noisy.  For  this  reason 
it  was  not  until  he  had  reached  the  level  ground  at  the 
bottom  of  the  canon  and  the  clash  of  iron  tire  against 
stone  had  ceased,  that  he  became  aware  the  ravine 
was  already  occupied.  A  sound  of  voices  and  laughter 
floated  up  through  the  thin  screen  of  leaves.  As  the 
half-breed's  vehicle  pushed  out  toward  the  creek  itself, 
he  saw  that  he  had  unwittingly  stumbled  on  a  camp 
of  Indians  up  in  the  Hills  on  one  of  their  annual  jaunts 
after  teepee  poles. 

Once  a  year  they  make  these  excursions.  The 
whole  band — men,  women,  children,  ponies,  dogs;  and 
household  goods — goes  along.  It  is  an  outing.  The 
women  fell  and  strip  the  long  slender  saplings.  The 
men  loaf  lazily  in  front  of  their  temporary  shelters  or 
ride  about  the  Hills  to  the  various  camps,  giving  war 
dances  for  nickels  and  silver  pieces.  The  occasion  is 
eminently  peaceful. 

Of  such  a  nature  was  the  gathering  which  Michail 
Lafond  came  upon  in  the  level  of  the  little  canon.  The 
wigwams  had  been  pitched  either  side  of  the  old  over 
grown  road.  Children  had  cut  away  the  slight  under 
brush  to  clear  a  round  smooth  park  of  perhaps  thirty 
yards  diameter,  in  the  circumference  of  which  were 
crowded  the  persons  and  household  belongings  of  four 
score  people.  Near  the  centre  stood  the  chief's  lodge 
distinguished  by  a  shield  and  spear.  The  whole  was  a 
facsimile  of  a  plains  camp,  except  that  here  the  whole 
affair  was  in  miniature — little  wigwams,  little  kettle- 
tripods,  little  space — for  the  camp  was  but  temporary. 
Perhaps  a  score  of  men  were  idling  about,  dressed  in 


OUT   OF  THE   PAST  323 

blue  overalls  and  old  flannel  shirts.  Moccasins  and  no 
hats  left  still  a  slight  flavor  of  savagery.  The  women 
were  clothed  for  the  most  part  in  dirty  calico  prints. 
The  children  had  on  just  nothing  at  all. 

Lafond  cursed  a  little  excitedly  as  he  became  aware 
of  this  not  unpicturesque  gathering.  It  was  plainly 
out  of  the  question  to  leave  his  horses  and  wagon  in 
the  creek  bottom  as  he  had  intended ;  and  it  was  now 
equally  impossible  to  waylay  the  prospectors  at  the 
top  of  the  grade.  A  shot  would  bring  out  the  entire 
band.  The  situation  was  much  complicated,  for  just 
beyond  lay  the  rolling  treeless  foothills.  More  bad 
luck! 

Still  the  half-breed  remembered  it  was  yet  many 
miles  to  Rapid ;  and  an  ambush  would  not  be  impossi 
ble  in  some  one  of  the  numerous  gullies  that  seamed 
the  foothills.  He  must  hurry  his  tired  horses  up  the 
steep  slope  in  order  to  emerge  on  the  main  road  ahead 
of  Knapp  and  Buckley. 

"  How !  "  said  the  nearest  warrior,  raising  his  hand 
palm  outward. 

"  How !  "  replied  Lafond  gravely. 

He  drove  on  through  the  half-obliterated  road,  re 
sponding  to  the  conventional  salutations  of  those  on 
the  right  and  on  the  left.  Near  the  further  side  of  the 
little  clearing,  a  tiny  copper-colored  boy  rose  from  the 
grass  and  scurried  across  in  front  of  the  horses,  so 
near  that  Lafond  had  to  pull  up  sharply  to  keep  from 
running  over  him.  An  old  woman,  evidently  its  nurse, 
hurried  to  catch  him.  When  she  came  to  the  road, 
however,  she  stopped  short,  and  stared  at  Black  Mike 
wildly,  and  began  to  scream  out  in  the  language  of  the 
Brule  Sioux. 


324  THE  WESTERNERS 

"  Tis  he,  the  Defiler !    Tis  he !  " 

She  was  an  unkempt,  wild  old  hag,  and  Lafond 
thought  her  mad.  Her  face  was  lined  deeply,  as  only 
an  Indian's  face  ever  is ;  a  few  ragged  wisps  of  gray 
hair  fell  over  her  eyes;  and  her  skinny  arm  showed 
that  she  wa€  thin  almost  to  emaciation. 

At  her  scream  a  warrior  arose  before  the  chief's 
lodge  and  approached.  From  all  directions  the  other 
warriors  gathered.  Two  of  the  younger  men  had  al 
ready  taken  the  horses  by  the  bits.  Lafond  did  not 
understand  it,  and  was  about  to  expostulate  vigorously 
against  what  he  thought  was  intended  robbery  until 
he  saw  the  face  of  the  chieftain,  who  now  drew  near. 
Then  he  turned  cold  to  the  marrow. 

The  chief  looked  him  in  the  face  for  almost  a  minute. 

"  It  is  not  so,"  he  said  quietly. 

The  hag  had  ceased  her  cries  when  the  two  young 
men  had  grasped  the  horses'  bits. 

"  It  is  so,  O  Lone  Wolf,"  she  replied  with  respect. 
"  The  form  is  changed  by  the  hand  of  Manitou,  but 
the  spirit  is  the  same,  and  I  know  it  in  his  eyes.  It 
is  the  Defiler." 

"  Let  Rippling  Water  be  sought,"  responded  the 
savage,  still  without  excitement. 

About  him  the  old-time  dignity  clung  as  a  mantle. 
To  any  one  in  a  less  desperate  situation  than  Michail 
Lafond  there  would  have  been  something  strangely  in 
congruous  and  a  little  pathetic  in  this  contrast  between 
the  manner  of  the  old  wild  plains  savage  and  the  habit 
of  the  modern  ward  of  the  government.  Even  he  was 
cool  enough  to  see  that  the  once  powerful  tribe  had 
sadly  shrunk  in  numbers  and  in  wealth. 

After  a  moment  the  woman  called  by  the  name  of 


OUT   OF   THE   PAST  325 

Rippling  Water  appeared  from  a  distance,  where  she 
had  been  cutting  birch  bark.  In  the  syllables  of  the 
beautiful  name  Lafond  had  recognized  that  of  the  sec 
ond  of  his  Indian  wives;  in  the  prematurely  aged 
withered  squaw  who  now  approached  he  recognized 
nothing. 

"  My  daughter,"  said  Lone  Wolf,  "  look  upon  this 
man.  Have  you  seen  him  ever?  " 

She  peered  at  him  a  moment  through  short-sighted 
eyes. 

"  I  have  lain  on  his  bosom,"  she  answered  simply. 

"It  is ?" 

"  It  is  the  Denier,"  she  replied. 


\ 


XXXVI 

UNDER   THE   ETERNAL  STARS 

AFTER  the  massacre  at  the  battle  of  the  Little 
Big  Horn,  a  vast  number  of  Indian  refugees 
fled  over  the  borders  into  Canada.  There  they 
dwelt,  drawing  three  pounds  of  beef  a  day  from  arbi 
trary  uniformed  individuals,  who  were  strangely  lack 
ing  in  sympathy,  and  very  observant  of  the  few  rules 
and  regulations  which  a  mysterious  White  Mother 
over  the  sea  had  seen  fit  to  impose.  Three  pounds  of 
meat  a  day  is  not  much.  Still  it  is  enough  to  get  along 
on,  and  with  the  necessity,  and  indeed,  the  opportunity 
of  the  chase  gone,  the  bucks  were  able  to  wax  lazy, 
drunken,  and  generally  shiftless  to  their  hearts'  con 
tent.  All  this  was  frowned  on  by  the  uniformed  in 
dividuals,  but  opportunities  were  not  far  to  seek. 

There  has  never  been  a  nation  more  warlike,  brave, 
and  hardy  than  the  Sioux  in  its  native  environment 
of  war  and  hunting.  These  two  furnished  every  point 
of  leverage — physical,  moral,  intellectual — which  the 
savage  required  to  lift  him  to  the  level  of  his  greatest 
efficiency.  From  the  buffalo  itself  the  Sioux  family 
obtained  its  supply  of  wigwams,  robes,  food,  fuel,  light, 
harness,  bow-strings,  instruments  of  industry — in  fact 
almost  every  article  of  necessity  or  luxury  appertain 
ing  to  its  everyday  life.  From  the  chase  of  the  animal 
the  young  Dacotah  learned  to  ride,  to  shoot,  to  risk 
his  life.  And  then  in  his  constant  strife  with  his  neigh 
bors,  the  Blackfeet  or  the  Crows  or  the  Pawnees,  he 

326 


UNDER   THE   ETERNAL   STARS     327 

was  forced,  if  he  would  survive,  to  develop  to  the  last 
degree  his  cunning,  his  observation,  his  strategy,  his 
resourcefulness,  his  patience,  his  power  to  endure,  his 
personal  courage.  Habituated  to  these  two,  the  chase 
and  war,  from  his  early  youth,  he  came  at  last  to  be 
the  coolest,  most  dangerous  warrior  of  the  plains.  He 
could  ride  anything,  bareback,  in  any  position.  With 
his  short,  powerful  bow  he  could  launch  a  half-dozen 
arrows  into  the  air  before  the  first  reached  the  ground, 
or  could  drive  one  of  his  shafts  quite  through  the  body 
of  a  buffalo.  When  necessity  required,  he  was  brave 
to  the  point  of  recklessness;  but  again,  when  expedi 
ency  advised,  he  could  worm  his  way  for  miles  through 
the  scantiest  cover,  flat  on  his  face,  by  the  laborious 
use  alone  of  his  elbows  and  toes.  He  could  read  a 
whole  history  in  a  trail  which  another  might  not  even 
distinguish.  He  could  sit  absolutely  motionless  for 
hours  in  the  hottest  sun  or  the  bitterest  cold.  And  he 
could  bear,  as  he  was  often  called  upon  to  do,  the  sever 
est  physical  pain  without  a  quiver  of  the  eyelid. 

But  when  the  buffalo  vanished,  the  Sioux  passed  the 
meridian  of  his  powers.  No  other  means  of  subsist 
ence  offered.  He  was  forced  to  plunder,  or  go  to  the 
reservation  for  Government  beef.  Thence  came  much 
whisky  and  much  loafing.  The  new  young  man  had 
not  the  training  of  his  father.  So,  in  a  little,  the  Teton 
nation  was  subdued  and  brought  to  reservations,  and 
herded  in  an  overall-plug-hat-blanket-wearing  multi 
tude,  even  now  but  half-tamed,  and  fiercely  instinct 
with  hereditary  ferocity  and  resourcefulness.  Other 
Indians  go  to  Carlisle,  learn  to  plough,  and  become  at 
least  partially  civilized.  The  Sioux,  fierce,  hawk-eyed, 
wide-nostrilled,  sits  in  solitary  dignity  before  his  lodge, 


328  THE  WESTERNERS 

brooding.  Occasionally  he  has  to  be  rounded  up  with 
a  Catling,  as  witness  Wounded  Knee.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  envy  the  agents  of  Dakota  reservations. 

When  the  statute  of  limitations  ran  out,  or  what 
ever  mysterious  time-limit  the  Government  puts  on 
its  displeasure  against  Indian  murderers,  Sitting  Bull 
and  a  horde  of  his  fellow-warriors  came  back.  Sitting- 
Bull  joined  Buffalo  Bill's  show,  where  he  had  a  good 
time  until  he  began  ghost-dancing  and  was  killed  in 
the  Wounded  Knee  campaign.  But  some,  Lone 
Wolfs  band  among  them,  remained  in  Canada. 
They  had  various  reasons  for  doing  so. 

Lone  Wolf  stayed  because  he  was  in  hard  luck.  He 
had  barely  settled  down  in  his  new  home  before  the 
great  Manitou  had  seen  fit  to  strike  his  children  w^ 
the  Spotted  Sickness.  When  finally  the  last  case  had 
been  buried  hastily,  and  its  clothes  and  belongings 
burned  under  the  distant  eye  of  the  uniformed  man, 
the  formerly  powerful  band  found  itself  reduced  by 
almost  half.  By  dint  of  sitting  innumerable  days  naked 
in  a  circle  on  the  prairie  and  beating  a  tom-tom  until 
the  agent  prayed  for  rain,  the  survivors  managed  to 
secure  for  themselves  immunity  from  the  Spotted  Sick 
ness  at  least.  Then  some  of  the  ponies  were  stolen. 
Then  a  schism  occurred  in  the  community ;  and  Three 
Knives  took  with  him  a  dozen  families  and  established 
a  new  clan  within  plain  sight  of  the  old.  Lone  Wolf 
was  powerless  because  of  the  uniformed  individual, 
who  frowned  on  the  Indian  idea  of  patriarchal  chastise 
ment.  A  very  young  man  of  the  band  killed  the  agent, 
hoping  thus  to  earn  praise,  but  almost  before  the  em 
bers  were  cold  and  before  the  scalp  of  Three  Knives 
had  clotted  dry,  there  appeared  an  astounding  number 


UNDER   THE  ETERNAL   STARS     329 

of  uniforms,  who  promptly  decimated  Lone  Wolf's 
warriors  and  took  away  all  their  arms.  Lone  Wolf 
discovered  that  these  uniformed  men  were  in  reality 
nothing  but  soldiers — a  disgusting  fact  which  he  had 
not  before  suspected.  They  hung  six  of  his  young 
men,  and  that  night  a  number  of  things  happened,  such 
as  the  unprovoked  fall  of  Lone  Wolf's  standard  from 
over  his  lodge,  which  showed  plainly  that  Gitche  Mani- 
tou  was  still  angry. 

Lone  Wolf  gathered  his  remnants  about  him  and 
journeyed  south  to  Spotted  Tail. 

There  he  enjoyed  the  discontented  tranquillity  of 
a  United  States  reservation,  with  occasional  privileges 
if  he  was  good. 

Lone  Wolf  had  gone  into  the  north  country  at  the 
head  of  three  hundred  efficient  righting  men,  well 
armed  with  rifles,  rich  in  ammunition,  ponies,  and  the 
luxuries  of  daily  existence.  He  came  back  as  the  nom 
inal  chief  of  thirty-five  warriors,  with  few  firearms,  and 
less  wealth.  Counting  in  the  women,  children,  and  old 
men,  his  original  band  had  numbered  nearly  a  thou 
sand  souls — a  large  camp  even  for  the  old  days.  Now 
there  remained  barely  a  tenth  of  that  number. 

Misfortunes  such  as  these  must  have  a  reason. 
Gitche  Manitou  is  stern,  but  he  is  not  unjust.  Every 
body  knows  that.  And  the  reason  Lone  Wolf's  band 
was  so  affiicted,  Big  Thunder,  the  medicine  man,  had 
discovered,  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  defiling  of  the  tribe's 
token,  after  the  Little  Big  Horn,  had  been  done  by  a 
member  of  the  tribe  itself.  Until  the  culprit  should  be 
brought  to  justice  the  wrath  of  Gitche  Manitou  would 
continue  to  be  visited  impartially  on  the  entire  band. 

The  recognition  of  Rippling  Water  made  a  profound 


330  THE  WESTERNERS 

impression  on  those  standing  about.  There  flashed 
into  Lone  Wolf's  eagle  face  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  so 
intense  that  Black  Mike  started.  He  had  not  the  re 
motest  notion  that  he  was  in  any  actual  danger,  for  his 
dealings  with  the  tribe  in  those  old  times  when  he  had 
been  a  member  of  it  had  always  been  rather  to  its  ad 
vantage  than  to  his  own.  That  is  was  unfriendly  to  him 
because  of  his  unceremonious  desertion  of  it,  he  did 
not  doubt.  Nor  did  he  hope  to  escape  a  typical  Indian 
tirade  from  the  two  old  hags  who,  so  short  a  time  ago, 
had  been  his  not  unattractive  young  wives.  But  be 
yond  this,  and  perhaps — as  he  glanced  over  the  motley 
indications  of  their  poverty — the  promise  of  gifts,  he 
anticipated  nothing  more  serious  in  the  end  than  a 
delay.  A  delay,  however,  was  what  he  could  not  at 
present  afford. 

"  Ah,  well,"  he  acknowledged  in  the  Indian  tongue, 
"  I  am  he,  Man-who-speaks-Medicine.  You  have 
known  me.  It  is  I.  It  is  many  moons  that  I  have  not 
seen  my  brothers,  but  I  have  accomplished  many 
things,  and  I  have  gathered  gifts  for  my  brothers  which 
will  rejoice  their  hearts.  I  go  to  the  lodges  of  the  white 
men  near  Swift-water  now,  and  I  haste ;  so  I  cannot 
linger  to  clasp  my  brothers'  hands ;  but  to-morrow  I 
return  bearing  the  gifts." 

He  took  up  his  reins  with  all  confidence,  for  in  those 
days  no  one  was  afraid  of  Indians — at  least  when  they 
were  accompanied  by  their  women  and  children.  The 
two  bucks  at  the  horses'  heads  did  not  move,  however ; 
and  at  a  signal  from  Lone  Wolf  three  others  leaped 
lightly  into  the  wagon-body  behind  the  half-breed  and 
pinned  his  arms  to  his  sides.  So  suddenly  was  it  done 
that  Lafond  could  not  even  struggle. 


UNDER   THE   ETERNAL   STARS    331 

His  captors  tied  his  elbows  together  at  the  back 
and  lifted  him  to  the  ground,  where  a  number  of  others 
hustled  him  into  a  wigwam,  and  after  tying  his  feet  left 
him  lying  on  the  ground.  In  a  moment  he  heard  the 
faint  sound  of  wheels  somewhere  above  him,  by  which 
he  knew  that  Billy  Knapp  and  Buckley  were  passing 
the  point  of  his  intended  ambush.  He  drew  a  deep 
breath  and  shouted.  Instantly  two  young  Sioux  ran 
in  and  threw  a  blanket  over  his  head,  nearly  smother 
ing  him.  The  sound  of  the  wheels  died  into  distance. 

After  perhaps  two  hours  he  heard  the  hoof-beats  of 
a  large  party  of  horsemen.  They,  too,  died  away.  The 
men  composing  the  party  were  looking  for  him, 
Michail  Lafond,  but  this  he  did  not  know.  He  tried 
to  distinguish  from  the  noises  just  outside  what  was 
taking  place  in  the  little  camp,  but  he  could  not. 

At  the  end  of  another  half-hour  the  two  young  men 
who  had  been  appointed  as  his  guards  led  him  out  to 
a  horse,  on  which,  after  his  feet  had  been  untied,  he 
was  compelled  to  mount.  He  asked  them  questions, 
to  which  they  vouchsafed  no  reply.  Looking  about 
him  curiously,  he  saw  that  the  camp  had  been  struck. 
The  long  teepee  poles,  bound  on  each  side  of  the 
ponies,  trailed  their  ends  on  the  ground,  and  on  the 
litters  thus  formed,  the  skins  of  the  lodges,  all  the 
household  utensils,  and  many  of  the  younger  children 
had  been  placed.  Squaws  bestrode  the  little  animals. 
The  warriors,  ridiculously  incongruous  in  their  over 
alls  and  flannel  shirts,  sat  motionless  on  their  mounts. 
Lafond  recognized  his  own  team,  but  could  not  dis 
cover  either  his  wagon  or  the  harness.  These  had  been 
dragged  away  into  the  bushes  and  left,  for  very  good 
reasons. 


332  THE  WESTERNERS 

The  cavalcade  took  its  way  directly  down  the  narrow, 
overgrown  little  canon,  riding  in  single  file.  Lafond 
could  not  understand  this.  The  road  above  would  have 
been  much  easier. 

After  an  hour's  hard  work  in  dodging  obstructions,, 
getting  around  fallen  trees  or  between  standing  timber, 
the  party  emerged  on  the  broad,  rolling  foothills,  grass- 
covered  and  bare  of  trees.  Here  Lone  Wolf  led  the 
way  south-east  for  several  miles,  and  finally  came  to  a 
halt  on  the  brow  of  a  round  hill  of  gentle  descent.  The 
band  at  once  dismounted.  A  number  of  the  squaws 
deftly  relieved  the  ponies  of  their  burdens,  and  the 
younger  boys  led  them  away  to  the  bottom-lands  for 
pasture.  The  women  then  began  without  delay  to 
erect  the  lodges  in  a  wide  circle  surrounding  the  brow 
of  the  hill,  so  arranging  them  that  the  flaps  or  door 
ways  opened  into  the  common  centre.  After  this  had 
been  done,  they  built  in  the  middle  of  the  circle  a  huge 
fire  of  wood  brought  from  the  Hills,  but  did  not  light 
it  as  yet.  Then  all  silently  disappeared  to  the  bottom 
lands,  where  they  made  little  fires  and  set  about  supper, 

Before  each  lodge  a  warrior  established  himself, 
crosslegged,  and  began  to  smoke.  When  the  sun 
clipped  behind  the  Hills  and  threw  their  long  shadows 
silently  out  across  to  the  Bad  Lands,  the  chill  of  twi 
light  struck  in,  and  so  the  Indians  wrapped  themselves 
closely  in  their  blankets.  As  by  a  stroke  of  enchant 
ment,  with  the  concealment  of  the  shirts  and  overalls, 
the  Past  returned.  Against  the  sky  of  evening,  the 
silhouettes  of  the  pointed  wigwams  and  the  sugges 
tion  of  the  shrouded  warriors  smoking  solemnly,  si 
lently,  their  pipes,  all  belonged  to  the  nomadic  age  be 
fore  such  men  as  Michail  Lafond  had  "  civilized  "  the 
country. 


UNDER   THE   ETERNAL   STARS    333 

After  a  time  they  rose  and  departed  silently  to  the 
bottom-land  for  a  while,  leaving  Lafond  in  charge  of 
the  two  young  men.  They  had  gone  to  eat  their  sup 
pers.  The  half-breed  had  not  tasted  food  since  the 
early  morning,  nor  slept  for  thirty  odd  hours. 

The  stars  came  out  one  by  one,  and  the  stillness  of 
that  great  inland  sea  men  call  the  prairies  fell  on  the 
world.  Such  occasional  sounds  as  rose  from  the  creek 
bottom  seemed  but  to  emphasize  the  peace.  And  then 
suddenly,  from  the  shadows  somewhere,  without  dis 
turbance,  the  blanketed  figures  appeared  and  took  their 
places  again.  A  squaw  came  bearing  a  torch,  and  lit 
the  fire  in  the  centre  of  the  circle,  and  there  sprang  up 
a  broad  shaft  of  light  which  drew  about  the  little  scene 
a  great  canopy  of  imminent  blackness.  From  hand 
to  hand  passed  a  great  red-stone  calumet  or  pipe. 
Each  warrior  puffed  at  it  twice  and  passed  it  to  his 
neighbor.  It  was  not  offered  to  Michail  Lafond,  whose 
bonds  had  now  been  loosened. 

After  each  of  the  seated  warriors  had  taken  his  part 
in  this  ceremony,  and  the  pipe  had  completed  the  circle 
to  Lone  Wolf,  that  chief  arose,  throwing  back  his 
blanket  from  his  shoulders. 

With  a  sudden  chill  of  fear,  Michail  Lafond  saw 
that  he  was  to  assist  at  a  state  council  of  the  sort  held 
only  when  the  tribe  is  to  sit  in  judgment  on  one  of  its 
own  number. 

The  savage  was  naked  to  the  waist.  In  his  hair, 
worn  loose  and  unbraided  after  the  Sioux  fashion,  three 
eagle  feathers  with  white  tips  were  thrust  slantwise 
across  the  back  of  his  head ;  and  under  its  heavy  mass 
his  fierce  bright  eyes  and  hawk  face  gleamed  impres 
sively.  About  his  neck  hung  a  fringe  of  bears'  claws, 


334  THE   WESTERNERS 

from  which  depended  a  round  silver  medal.  Now  as 
he  stood  there — the  lithe  strength  of  his  bronze  torso 
revealed  one  arm  clasping  the  blanket  about  his  waist, 
the  other  holding  loosely  at  his  side  the  feather-be 
decked  calumet  of  sandstone — the  stigma  of  sordid- 
ness  and  drunkenness  and  squalor  seemed  to  fall  away, 
so  that  the  spectator  would  have  seen  in  this  group  of 
silent  men  under  the  silent  western  heavens  only  the 
pomp  and  pride  of  a  great  and  savage  people  in  the 
zenith  of  its  power. 

Lone  Wolf  stood  for  the  space  of  several  minutes 
without  a  sign.  Then  with  a  magnificently  sweeping 
gesture  he  held  the  calumet  aloft  and  began  to  speak. 

At  first  his  voice  was  low  and  monotonous,  but  as 
his  speech  continued  it  took  on  more  color,  until  at  the 
close  it  responded  in  modulation  to  every  flash  of  his 
eye.  He  began  with  a  recital  of  the  tribe's  ancient 
glory,  dwelling  rather  on  concrete  examples  than  on 
broader  generalities.  He  numbered  its  warriors,  its 
ponies,  its  arms,  and  lodges.  He  told  of  the  beauty  of 
its  women  and  the  greatness  of  its  men,  whom  he  ran 
over  by  name.  He  told  of  its  deeds  in  war,  enumerat 
ing  the  enemies  it  had  struck,  the  ponies  it  had  stolen, 
the  stratagems  it  had  conceived  and  carried  out.  And 
then  he  swept  his  arm  and  the  feather-fluttering  calu 
met  abroad  as  he  described  the  boundless  extent  of  the 
hunting  grounds  over  which  it  had  used  to  roam.  As 
he  continued,  the  warriors'  expressive  eyes  brightened 
and  flashed  with  pride,  though  they  moved  not  one 
muscle  of  their  faces  or  bodies.  Beyond  the  circle 
could  be  dimly  descried  another  not  less  interested 
audience  of  women  and  older  children. 

"  These  and  more  were  ours !  "  cried  Lone  Wolf, 


UNDER   THE   ETERNAL  STARS    335 

"  these  and  many  more.  The  favor  of  Gitche  Manitou 
was  ours  and  the  riches  of  the  world.  Where  are  they 
now  ?  "  With  an  indescribably  graceful  gesture  the 
orator  stooped  to  the  ground  and  grasped  a  handful  of 
the  loose  dry  earth.  "  Gone !  "  he  said  solemnly,  let 
ting  the  sand  fall  from  his  outstretched  suddenly 
opened  palm. 

Then,  without  pause  or  transition,  he  began,  in 
equally  vivid  objective  language,  to  detail  the  tribe's 
misery  and  poverty  of  to-day.  He  recounted  its  dis 
asters,  just  as  a  moment  before  he  had  recounted  its 
victories.  He  told  of  the  Spotted  Sickness,  the  divid 
ing  of  forces,  the  battle  with  the  red  coats,  all  the  long 
series  of  oppressions  great  and  little  which  had 
brought  them  to  their  present  condition.  He  counted 
over  by  name  the  present  members,  to  show  how  their 
numbers  had  shrunken,  and  to  each  name  he  added 
others  of  those  who  had  gone  before.  So  real  was 
the  picture  that  the  orator  himself  faltered,  while  from 
outside  the  circle  rose  for  a  single  instant  a  long  trem 
bling  wail.  The  warriors  had  half  covered  their  faces 
with  the  folds  of  their  blankets. 

"  Thus  our  glory  went  and  our  young  men  are  seen 
no  longer  on  the  war  path,  but  only  in  the  white  men's 
towns.  And  yet  our  fathers  were  brave  before  us  and 
we  have  struck  well  in  our  time.  Why  is  this  so  ?  Why 
has  Gitche  Manitou  veiled  his  face  from  his  children?  " 

Leaving  the  question  unanswered,  Lone  Wolf  un 
expectedly  took  up  Lafond's  connection  with  the  tribe. 
In  the  recounting  of  this,  too,  he  held  to  the  greatest 
minuteness  of  detail,  showing  plainly  the  half-breed's 
rise  from  despised  squaw  man  to  a  person  of  influence 
in  the  councils.  He  gave  the  half-breed  full  credit  for 


336  THE  WESTERNERS 

all  he  did.  He  even  went  out  of  his  way  to  show  that 
to  Lafond  was  due  much  of  the  power  that  had  so  dis 
tinguished  the  Brule  Sioux  among  the  other  tribes. 
He  described  again  briefly  that  power,  and  told  of  the 
battle  of  the  Little  Big  Horn.  He  dwelt  on  that  as  to 
some  extent  the  culmination  of  the  tribe's  glory.  It 
was  the  last  and  greatest  of  its  exploits.  After  it  mis 
fortune  commenced.  Gitche  Manitou  that  day  veiled 
his  face. 

"  And  he  turned  his  hand  against  the  totem  of  the 
Turtle,"  said  Lone  Wolf  impressively,  "  because  one 
of  its  children  had  committed  a  sacrilege.  The  very 
night  of  that  great  victory,  a  brave  from  among  us 
arose  and  took  the  sacred  totem,  the  great  Turtle,  from 
the  lodge  of  his  chief,  and  slew  Buffalo  Voice,  the  medi 
cine  man  favored  of  Gitche  Manitou,  and  denied  the 
totem. 

"  From  that  time  Gitche  Manitou  has  frowned  upon 
his  children.  From  that  time  misfortune  has  visited 
the  tribe  of  Lone  Wolf.  From  that  time  the  man  who 
did  these  things  has  lost  his  old  warrior  name  and  has 
been  known  as  the  Defiler." 

He  paused  and  looked  about  the  circle  until  his  eye 
rested  on  Lafond.  With  a  sudden  fierce  enmity  he 
stretched  his  arm  toward  the  captive. 

"That  is  he,"  he  concluded  impressively;  "and  it 
has  been  revealed  by  Big  Thunder  that  never  will  Git 
che  Manitou  smile  on  his  children  until  the  Defiler 
dies!" 


XXXVII 

ASHES 

ALIGHT  night  wind  had  arisen  from  the  lower 
prairie,  and  occasionally  puffed  a  stray  wisp  of 
smoke  or  heat  across  the  westernmost  curve  of 
the  circle.  Hot  sparks  shot  up  in  the  air  swiftly, 
paused,  and  floated  dying  down  the  wind.  Above,  oc 
casionally,  the  clear  stars  peeped  in  through  the  can 
opy  of  blackness  which  the  firelight  so  jealously 
guarded.  There  was  a  perceptible  chill  in  the  air.  As 
the  long  speech  continued  and  drew  to  a  close,  the  half- 
breed,  seated  on  the  prairie  side  of  the  fire,  shivered 
convulsively  from  time  to  time,  for  he  was  now  almost 
exhausted  by  excitement  and  lack  of  sleep  and  food. 
At  first  he  had  submitted  to  the  trial,  if  so  it  might  be 
called,  unwillingly  enough,  to  tell  the  truth,  but  with 
out  a  suspicion  that  it  could  result  in  anything  more 
serious  than  a  fine  for  desertion.  It  might  almost  be 
looked  upon  as  a  ransom,  and  this  he  was  willing  to 
pay.  His  principal  emotion  had  been  that  of  frantic 
chafing  because,  for  the  present,  Jim  Buckley  and  Billy 
Knapp  were  free  to  make  trouble  for  him.  He  had  no 
doubt  they  would  do  so,  although  he  did  not  know 
exactly  how  they  would  go  at  it. 

As  Lone  Wolf  so  dramatically  outlined  the  grounds 
of  his  accusation,  however,  Lafond  really  began  to  see 
the  face  of  fear.  He  gathered  that  the  very  night  he 
had  chosen  to  quit  the  tribe,  some  one  had  killed  the 
tribe's  medicine  man  and  defiled  the  totem  in  a  way 

337 


338  THE   WESTERNERS 

not  to  be  mentioned  here.  This  is  with  Indians  the 
Unforgiveable  Sin.  Suspicion  had  naturally  coupled 
the  sacrilege  with  his  own  coincidental  disappearance. 
Probably  even  at  the  time  no  one  had  doubted  his  guilt 
or  had  suspected  any  other  cause  for  his  desertion. 
The  real  criminal  had  been  able  easily  to  cover  his 
trail ;  and  now,  so  many  years  would  have  hardened 
even  a  slight  suspicion,  let  alone  a  positive  certainty, 
into  conviction  absolute.  Lafond  saw  that  his  chances 
were  desperate,  and  yet  so  suddenly  was  the  knowl 
edge  forced  upon  him  that  he  could  hardly  realize  it. 
But  a  few  hours  before,  he  had  held  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand  more  power  than  any  other  one  man  in  the  terri 
tory.  Now  he  was  in  danger  of  his  life. 

He  knew  well  enough  that  his  only  chance  lay  in 
keeping  cool.  He  must  not  interrupt  the  orator  with 
'denials.  He  must  try  to  make  his  eloquence  tell. 

Lone  Wolf  ceased  abruptly,  drew  his  blanket  about 
his  shoulders  and  sat  down.  Two  squaws  noiselessly 
entered  the  circle,  bearing  wood  for  the  fire.  After 
they  had  withdrawn,  Lafond  rose  to  his  feet. 

He  was  at  once  uncomfortably  conscious  of  the  cir 
cle  of  snake  eyes.  It  was  for  him  the  predominant 
note  in  the  scene. 

He  began  haltingly,  partly  because  he  did  not  know 
what  to  say,  partly  because  long  disuse  had  impaired 
his  fluency  in  the  Indian  tongue.  But  in  a  moment, 
as  he  began  to  realize  that  he  was  now  in  the  act  of 
making  the  only  plea  for  his  life  which  his  captors 
would  permit  him,  his  speech  quickened  until  it  was 
as  rapid  as  that  of  Lone  Wolf  himself. 

It  was  a  masterly  effort,  for  Lafond  had  not  lost  the 
old  eloquence  which  had  earned  him  the  name  of 


ASHES  339 

'*  Man-who-speaks-Medicine."  He  reviewed,  as  had 
Lone  Wolf,  his  services  to  the  tribe.  He  did  it  mod 
estly,  stating  plainly  the  facts  and  leaving  the  savages 
to  draw  their  own  conclusions.  He  showed  further 
that  in  so  bending  his  efforts  to  the  tribe's  betterment, 
he  had  been  actuated  by  no  selfish  motives,  in  proof 
of  which  proposition  he  enumerated  one  by  one  the 
various  opportunities  he  had  let  pass  of  decamping 
enriched  beyond  any  one  warrior's  dreams  of  wealth ; 
to  which  proposition  he  further  pointed  out  as  a  corol 
lary  that  he  had  in  reality  departed  with  but  his  own 
weapons  and  the  clothes  on  his  back.  This  made  an 
impression.  Having  thus  established  his  disinterested 
ness  as  regards  his  services  to  the  tribe,  he  went  on 
further  to  show  that  these  argued,  furthermore,  an  in 
tense  personal  interest  in  its  welfare.  He  loved  his 
people.  He  challenged  them  to  cite  one  of  his  deeds 
which  would  bear  the  contrary  construction. 

And  then,  with  a  boldness  that  almost  amounted  to 
genius,  he  drew  before  them  vividly  that  night  on  the 
battlefield  when  he  had  so  long  contemplated  the  fallen 
white  chief,  and  he  detailed  to  them  the  reasons  he  had 
then  for  believing  the  Indians'  warlike  power  was  from 
that  moment  doomed  to  wane. 

"  I  saw  these  things,"  he  said,  "  as  one  to  whom 
Gitche  Manitou  had  spoken,  and  I  knew  they  were 
true.  But  my  brothers  were  victorious  ;  they  saw  the 
blue  coats  scattered  as  the  dust  is  scattered  by  the  wind. 
My  words  would  have  been  as  the  water  that  slips 
away  or  the  cloud  that  vanishes  in  the  heavens.  If  I 
had  told  my  brothers  these  things,  they  would  not  have 
believed.  You,  Spotted  Dog;  you,  Firebrand;  even 
you,  Lone  Wolf,  would  not  have  believed.  Look  well 


340  THE   WESTERNERS 

within  your  hearts  and  acknowledge  that  I  speak 
words  of  truth.  Then  you  would  have  cast  me  out  as 
one  with  forked  tongue." 

Such  being  the  case,  Lafond  argued  that,  inasmuch 
as  he  could  do  nothing  for  his  people  by  sharing  their 
disgrace,  he  had  left  them.  "  But  only  for  a  season," 
he  explained.  "  You  are  warriors :  I  am  a  man  of 
craft.  When  your  bows  are  broken  and  your  arrows 
lost,  then  must  I  take  my  weapons  and  strive  as  I  can. 
I  went  forth  to  fight  for  my  brothers.  Behold  me ;  I 
have  fought  and  I  have  won.  I  am  rich.  My  brothers 
are  to  share  my  riches.  Now  I  can  return  to  the 
lodges  of  my  brothers  as  one  coming  from  a  far  war 
trail,  bringing  the  ponies  and  scalps  of  the  enemies  my 
hand  has  struck." 

Then  suddenly  the  speaker  took  up  the  question  of 
the  crime  itself.  He  dilated  on  it  with  horror.  He 
acknowledged  no  excuse  for  it.  But,  he  asked  them, 
why  should  he  have  committed  it  ?  He  showed  them 
that  he  could  have  had  no  motive  for  such  a  wanton 
insult.  And,  most  ingenious  of  all,  he  pointed  out  that 
if,  as  Lone  Wolf  had  supposed,  the  tribe's  misfortunes 
had  arisen  because  of  Gitche  Manitou's  wrath  over 
this  terrible  crime,  then  that  wrath  and  those  misfort 
unes  would  indubitably  have  been  visited  on  him,  the 
accused,  with  the  rest ;  for  he  was  a  member  of  the 
tribe,  and  according  to  the  accusation  the  guiltiest  of 
them  all.  Such  was  not  the  case.  On  the  contrary  he 
had  prospered. 

In  conclusion  he  believed  he  could  direct  suspicion 
to  the  right  channel.  From  his  wonderful  past  knowl 
edge  of  inter-tribal  and  individual  jealousies,  he  rapidly 
constructed  a  plausible  theory. 


ASHES  341 

His  defence,  as  he  could  observe,  made  a  profound 
impression.  The  savages  sat  silent  and  thoughtful 
while  the  minutes  slipped  by,  and  the  wavering  light 
from  the  central  fire  alternately  illuminated  and  threw 
into  shadow  the  strong  bronze  of  their  faces.  The 
argument  was  sophistical  enough,  but  for  two  reasons 
it  carried  conviction.  In  the  first  place,  the  half-breed 
was  pleading  for  his  very  life ;  in  the  second  place,  he 
was  in  reality  absolutely  innocent  as  to  the  main  facts. 
Therefore  he  had  faith  and  earnestness — two  great 
qualities.  His  only  misfortune  was,  that  the  exigencies 
of  the  situation  demanded  that  in  the  web  of  truth  one 
falsehood  should  be  woven. 

Beyond  the  circle  of  light  the  dim  forms  of  the 
women  and  children  showed  faintly  against  the  dim 
mer  background  of  the  sea-like  prairie.  They  had  fol 
lowed  with  great  attention  the  deliberations  before 
them,  but  in  silence  and  with  decorum,  as  is  proper  in 
such  cases.  Now  suddenly  one  of  them  slipped  for 
ward  through  the  circle  before  her  companions  or  the 
warriors  between  whom  she  passed  could  detain  her. 
Before  the  fire  she  turned  and  faced  Lone  Wolf.  It 
was  the  old  hag  who  had  first  recognized  Lafond. 

The  warriors  looked  on  her  in  cold  surprise.  Such 
a  thing  as  a  woman  intruding  on  a  council  was  un 
heard  of,  unthinkable,  punishable  by  almost  any 
penalty. 

"  My  daughter  has  been  deceived,"  said  Lone  Wolf 
gravely.  "  This  is  not  a  gathering  of  the  women. 
She  must  go." 

She  did  not  seem  to  hear  him,  but  broke  out  panting 
as  soon  as  she  could  get  her  breath. 

"  My  brothers  listen  to  forked  words !  "  she  cried, 


342  THE   WESTERNERS 

"  and  the  spirit  of  lies  has  blinded  them,  so  that  they 
cannot  see  the  truth.  They  are  deceived  by  much 
lying  because  it  is  mingled  with  the  truth,  like  tobacco 
and  willow  bark.  He  says  he  has  been  on  the  long 
war  trail  and  now  returns  to  his  brothers  with  the 
ponies  of  his  enemies.  The  trail  has  indeed  been  long, 
for  it  is  many  moons  since  he  took  the  ponies.  How 
long  has  he  been  rich  ?  "  she  cried.  "  Many  moons ! 
Are  the  trails  closed  that  he  could  not  find  his  brothers 
before,  while  they  were  starving?  Does  he  find  them 
now  because  he  calls  to  them  from  afar  on  the  war 
trail  ?  It  is  lies  ! 

"  And  my  brothers  forget/'  she  went  on  contemptu 
ously,  "  the  Yellow  Hair  of  the  Hills  and  the  little 
child.  What  was  it  this  one  demanded  of  my  brothers  ? 
To  defile  Pah-sap-pa  by  the  slaying  of  his  enemies.  It 
was  for  that  he  made  us  rich,  for  that  he  used  his  craft 
to  bring  us  power.  It  was  his  power.  And  when  he 
led  my  brothers  up  into  Pah-sap-pa,  the  voice  of  Gitche 
Manitou  spoke  to  them  and  they  went  away  leaving 
this  one's  enemies  unharmed,  and  so  he  was  angry  with 
my  brothers  and  swore  to  do  them  an  injury.  So  he 
killed  Buffalo  Voice  and  defiled  the  totem  in  order 
that  Gitche  Manitou  might  turn  his  hand  against  us ! 
He  speaks  forked  words.  Why  has  he  not  brought 
his  gifts  long  before,  if  what  I  say  is  not  true  ?  There 
has  been  need." 

She  turned  as  suddenly  as  she  had  come  and  left 
the  circle,  again  empty  except  for  the  leaping  fire.  In 
her  spoke  the  spirit  of  relentlessness,a  deserted  woman. 
She  touched  with  unerring  instinct  on  the  one  weak 
spot  in  Lafond's  defence,  and  thereby  discredited  the 
rest.  Her  reminder  of  the  Soreness  of  their  need,  when 


ASHES  343 

this  renegade  brother  had  held  out  no  hand  to  help 
them,  hardened  their  hearts  and  brushed  from  their 
minds  like  cobwebs  the  structure  of  confidence  which 
Lafond  had  so  laboriously  spun.  Without  one  dissent 
ing  voice  they  condemned  him  to  death.  Then  the 
sitting  arose. 

The  hags  of  the  camp  advanced  and  stripped  the 
half-breed  naked,  in  spite  of  his  frantic  struggles. 
They  were  as  strong  as  men,  and  they  were  glad  he 
struggled  because  that  indicated  cowardice.  Lafond 
was  badly  unnerved;  his  blood  was  partly  Latin  and 
his  consciousness  of  innocence  was  keen.  When  he 
went  into  a  thing  with  his  eyes  open,  he  was  ready  to 
take  all  the  consequences  with  stoicism,  should  luck 
turn  against  him;  but  a  feeling  of  guiltlessness  was 
unusual  enough  to  render  him  desperate  when  unjustly 
condemned.  So  he  made  a  pitiful  spectacle  of  himself. 

The  old  hags  jeered  him.  They  told  him  he  had 
a  chicken's  heart,  and  promised  themselves  the  pleas 
ure  of  tasting  it  after  it  was  torn  from  his  living  body. 
They  spat  in  his  face  and  pinched  his  arms  to  see  him 
wince.  When  he  was  stripped  quite  naked,  they  staked 
him  out  to  picket  pins  with  rawhide  bands,  one  to 
each  of  his  four  limbs. 

While  this  was  going  on,  the  warriors,  having 
thrown  aside  their  blankets,  appeared  in  the  full  lithe 
glory  of  their  naked  bodies.  To  the  accompaniment 
of  a  strange  minor  chant,  they  circled  slowly  around 
the  fire  and  their  victim,  hopping  rhythmically  first  on 
one  foot  then  on  the  other,  stepping  high,  stooping 
low.  As  they  passed  the  prostrate  man,  they  struck 
their  knives  deep  into  the  ground  near  his  head,  for 
the  purpose  of  seeing  him  shrink.  After  a  little,  they 


344  THE  WESTERNERS 

became  sufficiently  excited,  and  so  the  tortures 
began. 

Toward  morning  the  squaws  wrapped  in  a  blanket 
the  mutilated  burnt  carcass,  and  laid  it  on  a  litter  which 
had  been  preparing  while  the  torture  was  in  progress. 
The  litter  was  raised  in  the  air  to  the  height  of  ten 
feet,  bound  securely  to  upright  poles.  Man-who- 
speaks-Medicine  had  been  a  member  of  the  tribe. 
Whatever  his  sins,  he  must  have  a  tribal  burial. 

Then  in  the  grayness  of  the  dawn  the  little  cavalcade 
filed  away,  like  muffled  phantoms,  toward  the  east.  In 
the  sky  the  last  stars  were  flickering  out.  On  the  hill 
top  the  last  embers  of  the  fire  died.  A  bird  high  in 
the  heavens  piped  up  clearly  for  a  moment,  and  was 
still.  The  breeze  of  morning  rippled  over  the  faintly 
distinguished  grasses,  and  stirred  the  drying  leaves  of 
the  litter  that  stood  like  a  scaffold  against  the  sombre 
shadows  of  the  Hills. 


THE  END. 


•  iVJSRSITY   or    - 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


'57TS 


i.O 


MAY  01 


L_nl 


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RECEIVED 

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OP. 


LD  21-100m-6,'56 
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